Into the Storm
by TheWizardStyles
Summary: One night Mel, after watching an episode of The Walking Dead, fell asleep and woke up in a storm of Walkers and survival. Her choices are adapt or die. All she wants to do is go home, but will she find a way? If she does find her way home, will she be too twisted from the world she just left to fit in to the world she was born in?
1. Chapter 1

I curled up on the couch to watch the second episode of season two of _The Walking Dead_. Last episode had left off with Carl getting shot and I wanted-no, needed to know if he was going to be okay. I was kind of sure he'd be fine but in a TV show where anyone can die at anytime from just about anything, it didn't seem impossible that Carl would die. Not to mention that Sophia had gone missing and they couldn't find her.

Watching the episode, it was difficult to stay sitting deeply in the couch. By the end, I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't wait for the next episode. I settled back in the couch to watch _Talking Dead_ and accidentally fell asleep.

As I woke up, I heard voices all around me.

"Who is she?" I heard a man ask.

"No idea." I heard another man answer. "We found her out cold in the woods."

"And she ain't bit?" The first man asked.

"It didn't seem like it. She doesn't seem hurt either." A woman interjected. I opened my eyes blinked a few times, surprised by the brightness of the room. I began to sit up when I felt strong but gentle arms on my shoulders pushing me down. I looked up into the kind eyes of an older man.

"Just lay back, girl." The man said. I recognized his voice as being the first man who spoke. As I looked at him, I couldn't help but feel that I had seen his face before, but I couldn't place it. I looked around and noticed the lace curtains and the floral blanket wrapped around my legs. I definitely wasn't in my living room like I was last night. I wasn't even in my bedroom, so where the hell was I?

I looked around the bed I was laying in and saw a group of people.

"Are you okay?" A woman with shoulder length blonde hair asked. "Are you hurt in anyway?" I recognized her voice, too as being the woman who spoke earlier.

"I'm fine. Where am I?" I replied, my voice coming out deep and awkward sounding.

"You're in my house." The older man said. I focused on his face again and noticed that he kind of looked like Hershel from _The Walking Dead_. I looked back at the blonde woman and she looked like Andrea. But that wasn't possible because _The Walking Dead_ was a TV show. It was just coincidence that they looked like that. Right? But then... why was I in a completely different place than where I fell asleep last night?

"Where's your house?" I asked cautiously. I was afraid of his answer. I looked more carefully at the face around my bed: Rick, T-Dog, Lori, Maggie, Glenn.

It couldn't be. I can't be...

There was Shane by the door and Carol in the doorway.

My heart started beating a mile a minute.

When the old man, Hershel, said, "Georgia." I almost freaked. I can't be in Georgia. I was just in my house in Wyoming. I was watching _Talking Dead_. I was just about to call Ross and talk to him about the episode. I can't be in Georgia.

But I was. I was in Georgia. I was in Hershel's farmhouse surrounded by Andrea and Glenn and T-Dog and Dale and everyone else.

I started to get up again. I had to go outside. The walls were closing in on me. I was suffocating. I felt like I was looking through a tunnel.

Rick, _Rick Gri_ _mes_ , tried to push me back down onto the bed but I swatted his hands away. As soon as I stood up, everything went black.

 **Author's Note: This is my first time writing fan fiction and I hope I did it well. Comments are encouraged because I don't know if anyone really wants to read what I'm writing. If you like this, please tell me and I'll keep writing. I like this first chapter but I don't know if you guys do and you guys are the important part of stories.**


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up in darkness this time. I was completely sure that it had been a dream. A freaky dream where I was in _The Walking Dead_ and surrounded by some of my favorite characters. I took a deep breath and reached for the bedside table lamp. It was probably Monday by now. I still hadn't started that paper for English and at this point it probably wasn't getting done.

I found the lamp and switched in on. The yellow light showered the ugly floral blanket and lace curtains and I groaned. It wasn't a dream. But if it wasn't a dream, how could I be here? This is impossible. People didn't just fall asleep on their couches one night and wake up in their favorite TV show! But I had. So it obviously wasn't impossible.

The door opened and light from the hallway filtered in. I looked up and saw a girl about my age with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail carrying a tray with food on it.

"Good, you're up." She said kindly. "You've been out for gosh knows how long. My daddy asked me to bring you some food for when you wake up." She set the tray down on the table and sat down on the edge of the bed. "My name's Beth, by the way."

Beth, right, I didn't see her much in that episode last night so I didn't catch her name. Was it last night? This whole "fall asleep in one world and wake up in another" thing really messed me up.

"Mel." I croaked. I reached out and took the glass of water. It was cool and soothed my dry throat and mouth.

"Is that short for somethin'?" Beth asked.

I took one half of the sandwich on the plate and bit into it, then I proceeded to remove the tomatoes.

"Yeah, it's short for something, but I don't go by that name much." I replied. I was strangely calm talking to Beth. She wasn't supposed to be real. She was a fictional character in a TV show. Maybe the shock hadn't really caught up to me yet. _I hope I find a way home before I see a Walker or I'll really freak out,_ I thought to myself.

"Oh." Beth said. "Is your full name really that bad?"

"It's not bad." I replied. "I just don't like it much. It's the name for and eighty-year-old woman, not a seventeen-year-old girl."

Beth laughed, "Oh, okay. So you're seventeen? I'm sixteen." We sat together in silence for a while as I ate my sandwich.

Once I was done, Beth turned to me and said, "Can you walk now? If you stand up, you're not gonna pass out again, are you?"'

"There's only one way to find out." I replied. Beth stood up and took the tray off the table. I got up and stood for a couple of minutes, just making sure I didn't black out.

"Good." Beth said. "Now you can come downstairs with me."

"What?!" I exclaimed. If the rest of the group is out there... I'm so not ready for that.

"Oh c'mon." Beth said, smiling. "It'll be okay, Shane and my daddy just wanna talk to you." Beth turned and walked into the hallway. I followed, but my legs felt like they were in cased in cement.

We walked down the stairs and into the living room. Everyone was there, even Daryl. They were all crowed in and watching me.

"You know," Shane said, looking at the tray Beth was holding, "we really can't afford to be picky these days."

I glanced over and saw the pile of tomatoes and replied with, "But tomatoes are evil. The most evilest fruits in the whole world." Beth laughed.

"It's okay," She said, "I'll eat 'em." Then she left and walked into the kitchen.

"Why don't you sit down there..." Rick started.

"Mel." I supplied.

"Mel." He smiled briefly but it didn't touch his eyes. "We need to go over a few things, okay?"

"Okay." I mumbled. I sat down in an arm chair and waited.

"Okay." Shane started. "First things first, we know your name, but not how you got here. How'd you end up on Hershel's land?"

"Uh..." I started. That was a really tough question. I couldn't say "I fell asleep on my couch last night after watching a TV show with you guys in it and then I woke up and I was here" now could I? No, no I couldn't, but what choice did I have?

"Come on." Dale said. "No one here is going to hurt you." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shane shoot a glance at Dale then look back at me. It was quick and I doubt anyone else saw it, but I saw it. And I didn't like it.

"Okay." I said, taking a deep breath. "Well I..." I looked around the room and my eyes locked on Carol. The poor woman. "Uh... okay well I fell asleep last night after watching a TV show called _The Walking Dead_ and I woke up here. And that is the gospel truth. Before you say anything, I just want you to know that all I know is that last night this-" I gestured generally around me "-was a TV show and now today it's my life." I took in another deep breath and looked around the room again.

"How about, I don't believe you." Shane said. "Now Imma ask you one more time, how'd you get here? Do you have people who'll be lookin' for you?"

"Shane." Lori said. "The poor girl hit her head this morning. She may not have... adjusted... as well as the rest of us and after hitting her head she thought it was all a dream... or rather a TV show. It's probably a coping mechanism. Isn't that right, sweetie?" she turned to look at me.

"No." I said flatly. "I fell asleep on my couch last night after watching season two episode two of _The Walking Dead_." I looked around the room and again and realized just how many times I've done that. I couldn't help it. Barely 24 hours ago they were just pictures on a TV screen and now they were walking, talking, _living_ people right in front of me.

"And what happened in this episode?" Hershel asked, he had been the man that asked who I was earlier today.

"Well Otis told Rick and Shane where you're farm house is so you could save Carl because Otis accidentally shot him. You couldn't save Carl yet because you didn't have the right equipment so Otis and Shane went on a run to get it and-" I glanced at Shane "-Otis died, but Shane brought the stuff back and you saved Carl and he's going to be fine. And Patricia stitched up T-Dog's arm because he got cut bad and it got infected. And Daryl and Andrea took a quick trip through the woods to try and find Sophia. That's what happened." I looked Shane right in the eye, daring him to challenge what I had just said. From the look in his eyes, I could tell that he knew that I knew that he had killed Otis. I could also tell that, at this moment, he wasn't above killing me, too.

Everyone else just looked skeptical.


	3. Chapter 3

"You're kidding, right?" Glenn asked.

"Oh how I wish I was, Glenn, oh how I wish I was." It had just hit me where I was and what was going on. I didn't know how I had gotten there, which meant that there may be no way back. I'd never see my family again. My brother, my parents. I'd never see my best friend Ross again. I guess in some weird way, I was just like the people in this room. We'd all lost people, however differently in circumstance.

"So, we were all in a TV show?" Glenn clarified.

"Yep. A pretty good one too, but you guys might not think so because it's your life." I sighed again. "And I guess it's my life, too, now." At that moment my head started to pound.

"I think we all need some rest." Hershel said. "Mel, why don't you go back upstairs? If your story is true, you seem to have had quite a rough day."

"My story _is_ true." I breathed, but by the look of it, no on heard me. I got up and headed back upstairs. That wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I didn't freak out and start jumping up and down when I saw Glenn, so that was a good sign. I took off my shoes and dropped them onto the floor next to the bed. I then curled up under the floral blanket and pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs, suddenly tired.

I fell asleep crying.

* * *

*Beth's P.O.V.*

"What do you think?" Shane asked the group.

I think I believe her. But I wasn't going to say that.

"I think she's crazy." Andrea said. "Who knows what happened to her before we found her? Maybe Lori's right and it's a coping mechanism, either way I don't feel completely safe with her around.."

"But what if her story's true?" Dale asked. "At least a little bit of it? What if she truly believes that this was a TV show and now she's living it? If we toss her out, she won't be able to survive on her own. It'll be like killing her with our bare hands."

"I agree." Rick said, nodding. "Let's just watch her for now and see what happens, if that's all right with you, Hershel."

"It's alright if she stays for a bit." Hershel said. "But, if after a few days she poses no threat, she's going to be part of your group. You found her, you are responsible for her." Rick nodded.

I wanted to tell them that I believed Mel's story, but I didn't want them to think I was crazy, too. Instead, I just watched all those strangers leave my house. I watched Rick and Lori step into the room where Carl was and the Asian kid look at Maggie before leaving. I think he has a crush on her.

Maggie took my hand and led me upstairs.

"I think that Asian kid likes you." I said.

"Shut up." Maggie replied, rolling her eyes. I laughed, but as I passed Mel's room, I heard crying.

 **Author's Note** **: Posting everyday won't be a regular thing. I'll try to post as often as possible, but I'm a busy working college girl. I'm only doing it now to get the story going.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I just realized that I specified season two episode two but when Mel was talking to the group, she said things about episode three instead. I'm trying to follow the story line as much as possible, sorry for the mix up. The rest of the chapters should line up pretty well with the episodes from now on.**

The next morning when I woke up, I refused to open my eyes. I really, really, _really_ hoped it was all just a dream. But when I opened my eyes, I was exactly where I had been last night. How the hell was I supposed to get home?

I slowly sat up and put my shoes back on. I stepped out into the hallway and headed downstairs.

"Good mornin'." Beth said cheerfully.

"Yeah." I huffed. I was pretty sure my face was still puffy from last night and all I wanted to do today was was cry. Beth motioned for me to sit down but I shook my head.

"No, I've been cooped up in here too long, I'm going to go outside and take a walk."

"Okay, but be careful." Beth warned. "If you go near the fences, take someone with you just in case." I nodded and left the house.

"Oh hey, you're up." Glenn said. He had been sitting in the rocking chair on the porch. "Can you run?"

"Huh?"

"Can you run, like, are you a fast runner?"

I stared at him for a moment. "Uh, yeah, I'm in track. Well, I _was_ in track, anyway. I'm a sprinter and a long distance runner which isn't common."

Glenn smiled, "Good. Maggie and I are going into town and I wanted to see if you wanted to come."

"Uh..."

"It'll be fine, I promise. Besides, you need to learn how things are done now."

"So you believe me? About the TV show thing, I mean?"

Glenn thought for a moment before he replied. "I don't _not_ believe you. You said a lot of stuff last night you couldn't have known."

"But you don't believe me believe me either." He looked pained, like he knew what I wanted to hear but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"It's okay." I said. "I wouldn't believe me either if I was you."

He smiled again. "So will you come with me and Maggie later?"

"Maybe." I said, actually considering it. "Ask me before you leave and maybe I'll have changed my mind." Glenn nodded and I stepped off the porch and onto the lawn.


	5. Chapter 5

I looked around and saw T-Dog, Dale, and Maggie standing in a circle. Maggie waved me over, but I ignored her and walked toward the stable. I needed to be alone to officially accept my new reality. I was honestly considering joining Maggie and Glenn on their run, but to be honest, I was terrified. I didn't want to see a walker. I knew it was going to happen sooner rather than later, but I wanted to put it off for as long as possible.

I spent most of the day walking around the property. I heard later that there had been a walker in one of the wells and that it hadn't ended well. Maggie and Glenn's run had gone off without a hitch and I promised Glenn that next time he and Maggie went on a run, I'd go too.

"Why don't we go on a run now?" Glenn asked.

"Do what?" I replied.

"Yeah, a little test run. We'll just go to the highway and back. Maybe we'll find some you some new clothes." He said looking me up and down. "Those aren't going to work for much longer." I looked down at my jean shorts and black Pink Floyd t-shirt.

"Yeah." I agreed. "You're probably right. But if I see a walker, I'm leaving your ass." Glenn laughed and nodded. He went and told Rick that he and I were taking the green Honda and heading up the road and that we'd be back before sundown. Glenn drove and I looked out the window. I closed my eyes and for a moment, I could almost pretend everything was normal. Almost.

Glenn parked the car and I hopped out. The highway looked like a ghost town. I shivered with a sudden chill and followed Glenn as he searched the cars. After an hour or so I rummaged through a car and found an unopened bottle of Tabasco sauce. I mean, what are the chances right? I sat and stared at the bottle for a couple of minutes, then headed back to Glenn.

"What'd you find?" He asked me.

"Hot sauce." I replied. He looked at me.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" He laughed.

"Hey now!" I defended. "It's not even opened." Glenn just shook his head and started loading the stuff into the car. It was mostly clothes, batteries, flashlights, and that sort of stuff. The sort of stuff one didn't think about needing to survive when thinking of survival.

Glenn handed me a small, tan back pack with a single large pocket with a flap and two side pockets.

"Here." He said. "I though you'd like this." I thanked him and put the bottle of Tabasco inside. I hopped back into the passenger seat and Glenn drove back to the farm. As soon as he parked, I hopped back out and helped him unload the stuff. After all the stuff had been unloaded, I went in search of Carol. I found her in the RV stitching up some blankets.

"Hi." I said awkwardly. I looked around and saw a beer bottle with a flower in it. "What-?"

"It''s from Daryl." She said. "It's a Cherokee rose."

"Oh." I smiled. "I guess I'm not the only one who was trying to cheer you up today, then." Carol looked at me. "Here." I swung the bag off of my back, reached in and grabbed the hot sauce. "I found this today when Glenn and I went to the highway to get clothes and stuff. It's not even opened. I was like, what are the chances, right? I mean, if I, me of all people, can find an unopened bottle of Tabasco sauce at the end of the world, then someone's gonna find Sophia." She smiled then as I held out the bottle. She took it and held it in her hands. I nodded and decided now was a good time to leave. The sun was going down and my legs were starting to get cold.

 **Author's Note: This chapter isn't very exciting, I'll admit. I didn't want Mel to see the walker in the well, I don't want her to see a walker at all, just yet. I have a plan, don't worry. I just really wanted to set up Glenn and Mel's friendship. They're just going to be friends. I love Glenn and Maggie together too much to change it, so I'm not going to. I'll try to post another chapter today to make up for this kind of lame one.**


	6. Chapter 6

I slept in the farm house that night, but the next morning Hershel told me I had to move out to where the RV and the others were.

"You are technically part of their group." He explained. It wasn't hard too hard to move outside. I didn't have anything except the clothes I was wearing and the backpack Glenn had given me. I didn't even have my phone, that obviously wouldn't work, or my wallet with pictures of my family inside. When I stepped up to the camp, Glenn told me I could sleep in his tent.

"Not _with_ me." Glenn added hastily. "No, like, I'll sleep somewhere else but..." I laughed.

"I have an older brother I shared a room with for years, don't worry about it." I put my backpack inside the tent Glenn said he occupied and as I was leaving I bumped into Carol.

"Oh, hi." I said sheepishly.

"I was wondering if you knew how to cook?" She asked.

"Oh, no, I'm a terrible cook. My dad would always joke that I'd have to find a husband to cook for me or didn't mind eating take out every night." I chuckled a little, thinking about my dad. "But I can bake. My grandma taught me before she died."

Carol smiled. "Good. I was hoping to make Hershel and his family dinner tonight and I wanted to see who'd be willing to help."

"I'll bring the cookies." I said smiling back. Carol nodded still smiling and invited me to help do laundry. She told Lori, who was also helping, about her idea to make dinner. I stopped listening and focused on pinning the wet clothes up to dry.

* * *

I was sitting on the porch with Beth playing checkers and talking about what our lives had been like before.

"I wanted to be a teacher." She said.

"I wanted to be... well, I wasn't sure what I wanted to be." I admitted. "At least, I didn't know what I wanted to be for the rest of my life."

Beth nodded. "I've always known I wanted to work with kids."

"So you wanted to be an elementary school teacher?"

"Yeah."

"I could never do that." I said wrinkling my nose. "I took this early childhood class and I had to be teacher's aide to the kindergarten teacher and the only thing that helped me survive was knowing that I'd only have to be with them for less than an hour, then I could leave. And don't get me started on those robot babies they made us take home. I didn't shower once during that whole four day weekend."

Beth laughed. "Oh c'mon, babies aren't that bad. Neither are kindergartners." I wrinkled my nose again.

"They are the spawn of Satan." Beth laughed again. At that moment, we heard Andrea yell, "Walker! Walker!" I stood up, my heart beating fast as a hummingbird. Beth stood next to me, looking out toward where the walker was. Rick, Glenn, and Shane were nearing it, but instead of shooting it, they stopped. Then I heard a gun shot. I looked around and saw Andrea on her belly on top of the RV with Dale's rifle. Rick started yelling something I couldn't make out. I watched as he and Shane carried a passed out Daryl who, from a distance, did indeed look like a walker, into the house.

* * *

Carol did indeed make dinner for Hershel and his family with the help of Lori and Beth, and I did indeed make cookies. They were all sitting around the table, though we had to set up another table because not everyone fit at the one in the dinning room. Before I sat down, Carol took me aside.

"Could you take this up to Daryl?" She asked. "He's in the room two doors on the left." I nodded and Carol handed me a tray with a plate of food, a glass of water, and utensils on it. I carried the plate up the stairs and stepped into the room two doors down. Rick had told me later that Daryl had gone out on his own to find Sophia. He told me that Daryl had been stabbed through the side with one of his own arrows and that Andrea's bullet had only grazed him. I guess Rick figured I was a little freaked out by the whole thing, especially when I saw the necklace of walker ears he tossed into the bushes.

I placed the tray on the bedside table as Daryl tried to sit up and cover his chest with his blanket.

"It's good that you're trying to find Sophia." I told him. "But you shouldn't go out alone."

"You're one to talk. You think you're in some kinda TV show or somethin'."

"This _was_ a TV show three days ago." I protested. "That's why I'm saying it's good that you're trying so hard to find Sophia. You were kind of a psycho in the first season."

"Stupid bitch." He muttered.

"Asshole." I shot back, rolling my eyes. I went back downstairs and sat down at the same table Glenn was sitting at and ate dinner.

 **Author's Note: I'd just like to say that not all of the little things are going to happen the same. The major, major plot points like Sophia in the barn and the Governor are still going to happen, but things like Mel taking the tray to Daryl instead of Carol are going to be a little different. There's a new character and that will change the story a little. But mostly, I'm going to follow the show unless something happens to a character and I change that character to Mel or something because it makes more sense in that context.**


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, Glenn took me on a run into town. It was nice riding the horses. Riding horses was almost second nature to me, growing up in Wyoming. The steady rocking back and forth was soothing. Once we made it into town, I hopped off my horse and tied her to a post; Glenn did the same with his horse.

"Why didn't you ask Maggie to come with you?" I asked him. I could tell by the way they looked at each other that they liked each other, and they were passing notes at dinner the other night.

"I wanted you to come with me." He stated. "You need the practice." He lead the way inside and handed me a piece of paper. "Help me look?" I nodded and took the paper. Most of it was medicine and I sure as hell wasn't going to attempt to pronounce any of their names. I moved to the back of the store to where the medicines were kept and tried to match the words on the paper to the labels on the bottles. I had started on a shelf to the left then I moved on to the shelf behind me. As I reached over to grab a bottle, something grabbed my hand.

I started screaming as the walker tried to pull me closer and bite my hand. Glenn was there in seconds and hit pulled me loose. I landed on the floor hard, hitting the back of my head. The walker lumbered around the other side of the shelf and Glenn hit it with a broken piece of shelf in the neck. It fell backward, it's head nearly completely decapitated. Glenn turned to me, his mouth was moving but I couldn't hear what he was saying, I was still staring at the walker.

It was getting up.

I started screaming again.

Glenn pulled out a machete he had had on his belt and hit the walker in the head multiple times. Finally, the thing was dead. I slowly and shakily stood up and looked down at the walker.

"Do you need to puke?" Glenn asked me.

"No."

"Because, if you do, I won't judge."

"Okay." I jumped over the counter and ran outside, bile rising in my throat. It's head was almost completely off, and yet it had still been alive. I threw up the little I had in my stomach and then some. Afterward, I sat down on the ground and put my head between my knees. Glenn came out a little afterward and stood behind me. He didn't ask me to hurry up or to get up or anything, he just let me be, and I appreciated that. I took a deep breath and slowly stood up again. Glenn handed me my bag and I climbed onto my horse. The rhythmic movements of the horse's walk helped me a little, but we still had to stop a couple of times so I could throw up whenever I remembered the walker.

It was my first walker, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be my last.

I wished, and not for the first time, that I was at home.

* * *

*Glenn's P.O.V.*

Mel looked pale and shaky, but I didn't want to bring up what had just happened. I mean, none of us had been ready for the walkers when all of this first happened, but I couldn't imagine what it would be like to think they were just people in makeup, and then suddenly almost get killed by one.

When we got back to the farm, I unsaddled both horses and together Mel and I went in search of Lori. I handed her all the stuff we had found for her.

"Is she okay?" Lori asked.

"Uh..." I looked over at Mel who was staring unblinkingly. "Yeah." Lori looked at me like she didn't believe me. "Well, uh, there was a walker and it almost got Mel."

"Oh, my God, are you okay? Is she okay?" Lori looked genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, we're fine. No bites or anything. Mel's obviously a little shaken up but I'm sure she'll be fine, too." I nodded and, for the first time, noticed Maggie a few feet away. She was looking at me with a weird expression. I really don't understand that girl. I walked over to Mel to check on her again.

"I think Maggie really likes you." She said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Mel looked at me. "And I think you really like her, too."

"Oh, go puke again." She smiled a little but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'll get used to it." She told me. "Don't worry. By the way, who's pregnant?"

"Uh..." I glanced at Lori. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you got morning after pills."

"Oh."

"Is it Lori?"

"I..." I scrunched up my face, but by the look on Mel's, she already knew the truth.

Mel nodded and walked away. Once she was gone, I went in search of Maggie. Mel was right, I really did really like her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: I do not own _The Walking Dead_. All rights reserved to AMC. Okay, enjoy.**

*Mel's P.O.V.*

I couldn't sleep that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that damn walker. Instead, I took a blanket, walked a little ways out to where I wasn't under the trees, and laid down to look at the stars. I pointed out to myself my favorite constellations and remembered the good old days when it was just me and my older brother, Mike, sitting on top of the garage. His favorite constellation was Draco because it was a dragon. My favorite was Sagittarius because it was a bow and arrow wielding centaur.

As I lay there on the blanket thinking about all those uselessly spent nights, I slowly fell asleep.

* * *

I felt someone shaking me. I opened my eyes and found Daryl staring down at me.

"The hell ya doin' out here?" He asked gruffly.

I rolled my eyes and didn't give him the satisfaction of an answer. Instead, I stood up and folded the blanket I had been laying on. Daryl huffed air out of his noses and stormed off back to camp. I followed him and put the blanket back inside my tent. I sat down and Carol handed me a plate of food and I smiled at her.

"I heard you had quite the eventful day yesterday." She said to me.

"Yeah, but it's okay, I'll get used to it." I smiled back and wondered if it was as convincing as I'd hoped it. I was beginning to wonder if I really was going to get used to the walkers. I mean, everyone else in this camp had, but I was from here. I was from somewhere that didn't have walkers. Would it really make sense to get used to them, when I was just going to go home and not have to bother with them in real life?

Whatever happens next, if I get home, I'm never watching _The Walking Dead_ again. Living it was enough for me.

Glenn stood up and cleared his throat. I looked up at him just as he was looking toward the farmhouse. I glanced over and saw Maggie, arms crossed over her chest, a sour look on her face, standing on the porch.

"The barn is full of walkers." Glenn said. Everyone stopped. I wanted to throw up again. Shane was the first one to react. He started yelling and running toward the barn. Most everyone followed, but I just kept sitting in my seat. I unsteadily got to my feet and headed toward the barn.

"We aren't leaving without my daughter." Carol said.

"Look, " Shane said, "we need to face the facts..."

"Don't say she's dead." I warned. "Don't you dare say she's dead."

"Yeah, we ain't leaving that little girl, I just found her doll 2 days ago." Daryl added. I looked at him. Did he just agree with me or is he serious? I mean, I know I told him the other day that he was good for looking for Sophia, but I also told him he was a psycho. You don't just stop being a psycho.

"I'll handle this." Rick growled. "Shane, let me handle this." Rick stalked off and Shane glared after him. The group dispersed after that, leaving only Carl and I standing in front of a walker infested barn.

* * *

I headed over to the stable. I wasn't feeling too well and I thought a would help make me feel better. As I walked in, I saw Daryl trying to saddle a horse.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"What do you care?" He snapped.

"You're going to go out to look for Sophia." I stated. He glared at me. "You really are a psycho. You realize barely two days ago you got shot and stabbed with an arrow, right? Or had that slipped your mind?" He just kept glaring at me. I took the saddle off the wooden horse and put it back. There went my plan to go riding.

"The hell ya doin'?" Daryl yelled at me.

"Fuck off, Daryl. You're gonna get yourself killed." I didn't really care whether he lived or died, but _someone_ would miss him, right?

"You fuck off." He snapped at me and stormed out of the stable.

"Psycho." I muttered after he left. I stood for a few minutes and then walked out of the stable when I heard yelling. Shane was walking around with a bag and handing the group guns. I walked up but Shane didn't even look at me. Then I heard the iconic noises the walkers make. We all looked around and saw Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy, Beth's boyfriend, leading walkers out of the woods and to the barn.

"Oh hell no." Shane muttered. He ran over to Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy and started yelling. "The hell is goin' on, Rick?"

"I'm handling it, Shane, stop." Rick protested, but it was like Shane was possessed. He couldn't stand still. He kept yelling.

Then he pulled out his gun and shot one of the walkers.

"Could a living person live through five rounds to the chest, Hershel?" Shane yelled. "Can they?"

"Shane, enough." Rick warned.

"You're right, Rick, that is enough." Shane walked right up and shot the walker in the head. It fell and Hershel... oh God, Hershel. He looked broken. I bet that walker was one of his friends. He fell to his knees and just stared in muted shock as Shane ran to the barn and broke the lock with a pickax.

The walkers stumbled out and Shane, Andrea, T-Dog, Glenn, and Daryl started shooting at them. I stared in horror as they blew the brains out of all those walkers. I had never seen something so horrifying. That is, until the last walker stumbled out.

It used to be a girl. A little girl, by the look of her size. She walked out and headed for the group. I heard Carol scream. I looked and saw her run toward the little walker screaming, "Sophia!" Daryl dropped his shotgun and grab Carol, both of them tumbling to the ground.

Sophia? Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God! Sophia was a walker. I tore my eyes away from the broken woman to watch Rick put a bullet through the little walker's head.

She tumbled to the ground.

And that was the end of Sophia Peletier.


	9. Chapter 9

For a moment, we all stood frozen with only Carol's strangled cries to listen to.

Then Beth stumbled toward the pile of dead walkers, and Carol aggressively shoved Daryl away from her and walked away.

"Mom." Beth wailed. "Mom." she bent down and moved one of the walkers off of another. "Mom." She knelt down next to the female walker, still crying. Suddenly, the walker moved and grabbed Beth by the arms. Beth started screaming and everyone lunged forward. Shane and Rick grabbed Beth and wrenched her away from the walker. Glenn had it by the wrists, and T-Dog stomped on it's head. Finally, Andrea took a scythe and stabbed it in the head. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"You knew she was in there!" Shane turned on Hershel. He was holding Beth as she wept. Hershel ignored Shane and started walking toward the house. Jimmy, Maggie, and Patricia followed suit.

"You knew she was in there!" Shane repeated, following. The rest of the group followed as well. By the looks on all their faces, they felt bad for Hershel and his family to some extent.

"I did not know that girl was in there." Hershel replied in a strangely calm tone. "Otis must have put her in there before he died."

"Before he was murdered." Muttered under my breath. No one heard my comment, and I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I want you off my property." Hershel demanded.

Shane opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a fuming Maggie.

She slapped him and growled, "Haven't you done enough?" then shoved him and walked inside with her family.

"What the hell was that?" Rick asked.

"Rick, we weren't safe with those things in the barn." Shane spat.

"I was handling it!" Rick yelled. "I was _handling_ it! You just slaughtered them!"

"Those things weren't people."

"That's not how Hershel saw it. He saw them as his family. He thinks you slaughtered his family!" Both Rick and Shane were breathing heavy. Shane then headed one way and Rick the other. After that, everyone headed in all different directions, unsure of what to do next. Glenn walked over to me.

"Are you okay?" He asked me.

I sighed. "Yeah, I guess. Are you? I know you wanted to find Sophia. You all did." Glenn nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay. You might want to check up on Carol though."

"What are you gonna do?" I asked.

"I'm gonna check in with Maggie." I nodded and headed toward the camp. I couldn't find Carol in the RV or any of the tents. I started walking around the property and I found her by a patch of flowers.

"Cherokee rose." I stated, recognizing the flower from when there was one in the RV.

Carol handed me the Tabasco sauce bottle. I took it from her and stared at it.

"I guess it worked about as well as a rabbit's foot, huh?" Carol didn't look at me, she just kept staring at the patch of flowers. I sat down next to her and didn't say anything more.

* * *

Carol and I walked back to the camp together in silence. Once we returned, she turned to me.

"Thank you." She hugged me and I hugged her back.

"I'm sorry about Sophia. I so wanted someone to find her alive." Carol nodded and stepped into the RV.

I walked around the camp and bumped into Rick.

"Hey, Glenn and I are heading into town to find Hershel. Beth's collapsed and we need him. Do you want to come?" He looked at me. "You don't have to, I know that incident at he barn must have been as hard for you as it was for the Greenes, but for that same reason, you might be able to convince Hershel to come back."

"Honestly, I'm trying not to think about it, but maybe you're right about that last part." I replied. "Sure, I'll go, just give me a sec." I ran to the tent and grabbed my bag, putting the hot sauce inside. I headed back out to where Rick was waiting and together we walked to where Glenn was waiting by a car.

I hopped into the back and Glenn took shotgun. Rick started up the car and the three of us drove off toward town.

* * *

"I'd have given you a gun, Mel," Rick said after a while, "but you don't know how to shoot."

"I should know how to shoot by now." I said quietly. "My brother Brandon has been promising to take me hunting for years." I pause. "Had. He had been. Past tense, now." Glenn looked at me in the rear view mirror but neither of them said anything.

"So Glenn," I said, wanting to change the subject, "You said goodbye to Maggie? That's cute."

"Yeah." Glenn forcefully chuckled. "She told me she loved me." Rick looked at him and I smiled wide.

"Oh my, God." I laughed. "That's so cute!"

"I didn't say it back." Glenn added.

"Oh. Less cute. Why the fuck not?"

"Yeah." Rick agreed. "It's pretty obvious she likes you."

"And not just because of the lack of options." I interjected.

Rick chuckled.

"Shut up." Glenn smiled a little. "It's just, I've never been told that by a woman before. I mean, my mom and sisters, but..."

"It's not the same?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm seventeen and never been kissed."

Glenn's jaw dropped open.

"What?"

"Shut up."

Rick just sat in the driver's seat and laughed at us.

 **Author's Note: Most of this chapter is necessary, i.e. the beginning. The end wasn't really, but I wanted to put it in because I thought it'd lighten the mood a little. I hope it worked.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: I think I said in an earlier chapter that I'm not go** **ing to post everyday, but I'm editing that and saying that I'm probably going to be posting one to two chapters a day. I have almost four seasons to catch up on.**

We made it into town and Rick parked in front of the bar. We stepped out and walked inside. Hershel was sitting at the bar drinking some sort of liquor.

"How many have you had?" Rick asked him when he walked over.

"Not enough." Hershel replied. "Who's with you?"

"Glenn and Mel." Hershel nodded but didn't say anything more.

"Hershel," I started, "Beth's sick or something."

"Shock, we think." Glenn amended. "She collapsed and she needs you."

"What she needs is her mother. She needed to mourn her and I deprived her of that."

"You were just doing what you thought was right." I replied. "You had hope they would get better, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Hope." Hershel huffed air out of his mouth. "You know, when Rick ran up to my house with his boy in his arms, I had little hope he would survive."

"And he did, because of you."

"And we lost Otis. But Rick's man Shane made it back. And then you showed up."

"That-" I started then stopped. I didn't think now was the time to bring up Shane's murdering of Otis.

"That what?" Hershel asked.

"That was tragic, but... oh dear Lord, never mind." I shook my head. "The important thing is that Carl survived because of you, regardless of how much hope you had." I walked over to the bar and sat in the stool next to Hershel. I pulled out the bottle of Tabasco sauce and put in on the bar next to the bottle of alcohol.

"I found this with Glenn a few days ago. I gave it to Carol and told her that if I could find and unopened bottle of Tabasco sauce at the end of the world, then we can find her daughter." I shrugged. "Make of that what you will." Hershel looked at the bottle of hot sauce and took another swig of liquor.

Just then, the door swung open.

"Well, lookie here. They're alive." A man said.

I turned toward the door and saw two men, a thinner one and a larger one.

"Mind if we come inside?" The thinner one asked. Rick nodded slightly and the two men walked deeper into the bar. The thinner one sat down at a table just a few feet away from me, and the larger man sat on the other bar on the other side of the room.

"My name's Dave. That ugly ass over there is Tony. Mind if we drink?" Rick nodded slightly again and glanced at Glenn who was still standing near the door. Tony grabbed a bottle from the underside of the bar, poured himself a glass and then tossed it to Dave. If I stuck my hand out right at that moment, I was sure I'd be able to literally feel the tension.

"Oh, yeah." Dave pulled out a gun and placed it on the table. "Took it off a cop."

"I'm a cop." Rick stated.

"This one was already dead." He smirked. I felt Dave's eyes looking me up and down.

"Where're you headed?" Rick asked.

"Nebraska."

"Why?" I asked, my native Wyomingite coming out. We hate Nebraska. And Colorado.

"Low population, lots of guns." Dave stated.

I wrinkled my nose. All they have in Nebraska is corn. And Colorado has bad drivers.

"So, you guys holed up here or somewhere else?" Dave asked. "It doesn't look like you're holed up here, so, you gotta be somewhere else, right? Like a farm or something. Hey, you guys staying at a farm?" I looked at Rick, but he just kept staring at these potentially dangerous strangers.

"Ask the leprechaun." Tony said looking at me. "I bet she'd tell us where they're staying. I rolled my eyes.

"Real original." I stated. "Like I haven't heard that one before." I pulled my red hair into a ponytail. "There's no room. There really isn't enough room for everyone who's already there. There are plenty of other farms to choose from."

"No actually, there aren't." Dave replied. "They're all full of deaders." Just then, Tony stood up, walked to one of the corners, and peed on the floor.

"Tony, not in front of the lady." Dave said. "I apologize for my friend, he doesn't have the manners I do."

"I have three older brothers and two baby ones. You have nothing I haven't seen already." I sighed. "Anyway, we should probably go. That _friend_ of yours pees loud. Probably attracted all the walkers from miles around." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Glenn try to suppress a smile. I hopped off the stool and turned to Hershel. "Coming?"

"Hey you stupid bitch-" Tony started.

"What? You think because I'm a girl I can't speak my mind?" I studied him for a minute. "That is what you think, isn't it?" I rolled my eyes again. "Oh I see. You know, from what I saw in the corner, it doesn't look like you're any kind of man at all." Glenn's inhibitions flew out the window and he cracked up.

"Look here, cu-"

"Whoa, whoa." Dave stood up and held both his hands out, one toward me and one toward Tony. "Let's just calm down." He looked at me quizzically. "All we want is a safe place to stay."

"There isn't a safe place." Rick said. "We were going to head to Fort Binning."

"Oh no. That place is full of, what did you call them, walkers? Ah, that's better than deaders."

Rick nodded stiffly and glanced at Glenn.

"So let's check out this farm of yours, I bet it's close."

"That's not going to happen." Rick glared at Dave.

In the blink of an eye, Dave reached for his gun. Rick pulled his pistol out and shot him dead. Then he turned to Tony and killed him, too. I just stared.

"Okay." Glenn said. "Let's go."

Just then, we heard a car park in front of the bar. The engine suddenly shut off, and gruff, men's voices filled the air.


	11. Chapter 11

For a minute, I couldn't move. I had just seen Rick kill two men. _Rick_. I took a steadying breath.

"Are you okay?"Glenn whispered to me. He was crouching now, so was Rick and Hershel. I followed their lead.

"No." I whispered back. "No I am not okay." Carefully, the four of us crawled to the door. I sat with my back against the wall with Glenn on my left side looking out.

"We're gonna have to sneak out the back and make a run for the car." Rick whispered to us across the threshold.

Glenn turned to me. "You're gonna have to be okay for the next few minutes, just until we get out of here and make it back to the farm." I nodded and listened to the men outside, waiting for Rick's lead.

"Tony! Dave!" They were yelling. We heard gunshots.

"Deaders." One man's voice said. "Took care of 'em."

"Okay." Another voice replied. "Did you guys clear those buildings over there?"

"Yeah." A third voice put in.

"What about this one?" The first man asked. I sucked in a breath.

"Uh..." The third man started.

"We're looking for Dave and Tony and you didn't think to look in the bar?" I glanced over and saw Dave and Tony's lifeless bodies, still leaking blood. How the hell were we going to get out of this one? Heavy footsteps pounded on the steps outside. The door started to open, but Glenn moved and shut it with his body. I stared at him with wide eyes.

"Dude, someone shut that door." The first man said.

"You're just trippin', man." The second man replied.

"No." The first man insisted. "I felt someone shut that door. Hey, is anybody in there?" I saw Rick twitch just slightly over Glenn's shoulder.

"We just wanna find our friends, is anyone in there? Have you seen them?"

I saw Rick twitch again. He saw me and I shook my head vigorously. He was going to call out to them. And he did.

"They drew on us." Rick yelled gruffly. _Shit_.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"What?"

"Your friends. They drew on us. It was just a case of wrong place, wrong-" But Rick didn't get a chance to finish. Gunshots rang out.

"Get to the car!" Rick yelled at us. Glenn, Hershel, and I ran to the back of the building.

 **Author's Note: This chapter is kind of short. I just felt like I needed to post something because I didn't yesterday. Is it going okay? This story, is it going okay? I don't know, I'm a little biased and I like it.**


	12. Chapter 12

Glenn made it into the back first. Before I even stepped foot inside, I heard another gun shot. I looked up and Glenn had his gun pointed at the back door.

"I thought I saw someone." I said quietly.

"Glenn! Are you okay? Glenn!" Rick called out.

"I'm fine!" Glenn called back. "We're fine." Hershel came up behind me holding a gun.

"I thought you didn't know how to shoot." I said. I was a little dazed by the whole situation. So much so, that all I could think about was bottle of unopened Tabasco sauce that was probably still sitting on the counter in the bar. I mean, how pathetic is that?

"I can shoot, just don't like to." Hershel replied. He walked over to Glenn and they exchanged some words. After a moment, Glenn looked at me.

"I'm gonna make a run for the car, you stay here. Hershel's gonna cover me. I'll be back." Glenn said quickly, then he slipped out the door. Bullets flew and Hershel's gun went off. I heard a man screaming in pain.

"Glenn..." I started.

"It's not Glenn, though I think he's been hit. He made it partway down the ally." Hershel explained. I nodded and took another breath. I really hated this. I hated guns and shooting people and walkers and everything. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it. I just wanted to go home. I was done with all of it.

Just then, Rick ran in.

"Where's Glenn?" Rick asked.

"He's in the ally." Hershel said again. "I think he's been hit." Rick waked over to where Hershel was by the door and looked out. I was still standing in the middle of the room, unwilling to move.

"Glenn." Rick called in a voice that was a little more than a whisper.

"I'm okay." Glenn called back in a weak voice.

Rick turned to me. "Okay, Mel, we have to go now." I nodded. "We have to run to the car." I nodded again and followed the two men out the door. Just as we reached Glenn, a truck pulled into the road.

"C'mon!" The driver yelled. "We have to go, there are deaders everywhere!" There was a person on the roof of one of the buildings. He jumped down onto the other roof next door and lost his footing. His piercing cry of pain made me cringe.

"He didn't make it." Glenn whispered, as if we needed to know what our eyes had already told us.

"We have to go, sorry man!" The driver yelled and then pulled away. The hurt man started screaming, "No! Please! Don't leave me!"

But they left him anyway.

We made a break for the car. I glanced up toward the hurt guy and saw a boy. He couldn't have been much older than me, and his calf was completely impaled on a fence spike. Rick saw what I saw, a kid, and walked over to him.

"He's a kid."

"Rick, we have to go." Glenn said.

"He's a kid." Rick repeated. "I can't leave him, Hershel what do we do?"

Hershel walked over and examined the boys leg. "There's nothing we can do, really. We have to leave him."

"What if we took his leg off?" Hershel paused, considering.

"I'd need to sever the ligaments below the knee cap and above the..." Hershel started, but I stopped listening long enough to throw up. Glenn, I have no idea what he was doing, patted me on the back and reached into the car. He pulled out a hatchet and I felt all the blood drain from my face.

"You're gonna..." I trailed off.

"We have to." Rick explained. "I'm not going to leave him." He took the hatchet from Glenn and turned to the kid. I swayed a little. Blood started rushing in my ears and everything sounded and looked like it was all happening at the end of a tunnel. I saw Glenn shooting at something and yelling, "Hurry! I'm almost out of ammo!"

I turned back to Rick just in time to watch him wrench the boy's leg up and off the spike, time having run out to amputate it.

I don't really remember what happened after that. I was vaguely aware of Glenn helping me back into the car and then taking the seat next to me. Something thumped in the trunk. Car doors opened and closed. The engine revved and we were moving. I kept it together long enough for us to be on our way, then I laid my head on Glenn's shoulder and passed out.

* * *

*Rick's P.O.V.*

 _We don't kill the living._

I had to kill them. I had to kill those men.

 _We don't kill the living._

They would have killed us.

 _We don't kill the living._

They could have killed Lori and Carl.

 _We don't kill the living._

 _We don't kill the living._

 _We don't kill the living._

As we drove back to the farm, I kept glancing back at Glenn and Mel and Hershel next to me. I hoped they understood that those men would have killed us first. And that kid... Hershel got a name out of him, Randall. Randall passed out and we tossed him in the trunk. Hershel was going to fix his leg, and then together we all were going to decide what to do with him.

Shane wasn't going to like this. I knew that for a fact. He was going to want to kill the boy.

 _We don't kill the living._

Maybe that was just a pipe dream, not killing people. Maybe over time, that's going to become more and more irrelevant.

I sighed and looked back at Glenn and Mel again. She was sleeping on his shoulder and he was looking out the window. He loved Maggie, and Maggie loved him. We were going to need more of that in the days, months, or years to come. And Mel... poor girl had no idea the kind of world she was in now, until today. I hoped I didn't scare her. I hoped I didn't scare any of them.

But those men were going to kill us. They had to understand that. I glanced at Hershel again. It looked like he understood what had just happened. Glenn, too. Mel... I'd have to talk to her later. For now, though we needed to get home to save that kid.

 _We don't kill the living._


	13. Chapter 13

*Mel's P.O.V.*

"Hey, wake up, we're back." I heard Glenn say softly. I was laying down on the backseat of the car. I slowly sat up, my brain pounding against my skull. I looked at Glenn and squinted against the sunlight.

"Were you having a nightmare?" Glenn asked me. "You were shaking and murmuring a little."

I nodded. "Yeah, a nightmare." I stiffly climbed out of the car, quickly forgetting my nightmare. I think there were walkers in it. "Where's the kid?"

"Oh, Hershel's working on him now. His name's Randall, by the way. You fell asleep before I could tell you." Glenn explained. I looked over toward the farmhouse and saw Maggie standing on the porch. I looked at Glenn again and by the way he was looking at Maggie, I could tell he hand't told her that he loved her.

"Hey-" Glenn started, but I patted him on the shoulder and walked toward the camp. I wanted to be alone. I hadn't had time to process what I had seen last night and over the last few days. I entered the tent I shared with Glenn and changed my clothes. Carol walked over and took my dirty clothes from me.

"How-" I cut her off with a smile and a pat on the shoulder and walked away. I appreciated Glenn wanting to make sure I was okay, and I'm sure Carol wanted to do the same, but I just couldn't handle it at that moment. I didn't want their pity stares. I didn't want them to ask me if I was okay because I was sure most of them didn't really care if I was.

I walked out to Daryl's secluded camp. He was sitting on the ground messing with God knows what. I knew he wasn't going to ask me if I was okay. He was probably going to call me a pussy or make fun of me in some way but I didn't care. He wasn't going to pity me or anything and I needed that right now.

"What d'ya want?" Daryl asked, glaring up at me.

I ignored him and sat down a couple of yards away.

"What're you doin'?" He all but yelled. I ignored him and laid back on the grass and closed my eyes.

He stomped over and looked down at me. "The hell you doin'?" Daryl finally yelled at me.

"I'm laying in the grass." I replied. "Last I checked, this was America _and_ the world ended. I can do what I want, Daryl. Ooh, I may just start calling you 'Dixon' instead of Daryl, just because I can. I bet that'll annoy the piss outta you, wouldn't it?" I put my hands behind my head.

"How'd you know that was my name?" He asked.

"'Cause this was all a TV show a few days ago. I saw it. I know things."

"Why don't you just lay in some other grass and stop pesterin' me with yer TV show shit."

"Because I don't want to, _Dixon_. Ooh, do you own this plot of land?" I opened my eyes and looked at him. "This whole five foot five inch by two foot section of dirt?"

"I thought you thought I was a psycho."

"Well yes, _Dixon_ , I did think you were a psycho. But after yesterday with the barn, I'm starting to think Shane is the real psycho. I mean, he killed Otis..." I trailed off and looked passed him toward the sky.

"Otis was killed by walkers." Dixon stated.

"That's what _Shane_ told you. That's like Hitler telling the Germans that the Jews were evil or whatever the hell he said to make an entire country okay with genocide." I turned my gaze back on Dixon. "And you really believed him? Because he's such a great guy?" Just then, Andrea trotted over to us.

"Hey, we're meeting to discuss Randall." Dixon nodded but didn't immediately follow Andrea. He looked down at me quizzically.

"Do you believe me now about the TV show thing?" I asked him.

"No." But his eyes told a different story. He was suspicious now.

* * *

"I couldn't just leave him." Rick told the group. "He would have bled out, if the walkers didn't get him first."

"He's part of a bigger group, Rick. They're gonna come lookin' for him." Shane said.

"They think he's dead." Rick replied. "They _left_ him for dead."

The conversation went back and forth for a while before Shane asked, "What are you planning on doing with him?"

"Once Hershel says he's good to walk, we take him to the main road, give him a canteen, and let him go."

"What if he goes back to his group and brings them back here?" Shane asked.

I was watching the back and forth like a tennis match. I'd always hated tennis.

"Then we take him farther out." Rick replied firmly. I could tell from his eyes he wasn't swaying from his decision. If he had already decided on letting him go, why did he bring it up with the rest of us? Why didn't he just do it?

I spent the next couple of nights not sleeping. Every time I closed my eyes to sleep, I saw walkers and Dave and Tony. I spent the days with Beth. She was in a bad way. She didn't talk much, just sat or laid there, but I sensed that she liked having me there. I didn't try to talk to her, the same way I didn't really talk to anyone during those two days. Glenn tried to talk to me a couple of times, so did Carol. I didn't want to talk to anyone. Maybe that's why I liked being with Beth so much.

Hershel cleared Randall to travel. Shane and Rick geared up and tied Randall up, blindfolded him, and put headphones on him. They tossed him in the back of the green car and drove away. 18 miles out they were taking him. No one said it, but we were all hoping that 18 miles would be enough.

I took a tray of food up to Beth and placed it on the beside table. She had been eating less than me in the past couple of days, and that was saying something.

"You should eat something." I told her.

"You should eat somethin'." She replied. It wasn't the first time she had spoken, but it was the first time she had spoken to me.

"Why don't we eat it together?" I suggested. She looked at me with sad blue eyes, but nodded slightly. I let her eat the tomatoes off the plate while I ate the cucumbers and tried my best to split the chicken in half. Between the two of us, we finished the meal that was intended for one. I left the tray on the table and went to the bathroom. I always took advantage of using the bathroom in the farmhouse if I got a chance. The female body wasn't made to go to the bathroom outside.

I walked back in to the bedroom and took the tray back downstairs. I handed it to Lori and situated myself on one of the stools. She started putting things away.

"She ate. That's good." Lori observed.

"We ate." I corrected. "We split it." That was the first time I had spoken to anyone in the group in days. Lori glanced at me over her shoulder.

"Good. That's good. At least you both ate." Then she started shuffling around more frantically. After a minute, she flew upstairs. I followed a bit more slowly, curious.

"Beth, honey, you don't wanna do this. Give me the knife." Beth was laying on her side. She pulled the knife I had used to cut the chicken with out from under the covers and handed it to Lori. Lori took the knife and headed back downstairs. I didn't follow her again, instead I sat laid down on the other side of Beth. Maggie came in a little later and asked if she could sit with Beth alone. I guessed Lori had told her about the knife.

Wordlessly, I got up and walked out of the room. I went down the stairs and headed outside.


	14. Chapter 14

I walked around aimlessly for maybe an hour before heading back to the farmhouse. I stepped inside and walked into the kitchen.

Andrea and Lori seemed to be in a heated conversation, probably about the knife Beth had hidden.

"That wasn't your choice to make." Andrea was saying.

"So, just let her do it? Let her commit suicide?" Lori asked.

"Let her make her own decision. If she's really sure, she'll find a way to do it anyway."

I left them fighting and walked upstairs. Beth and Maggie were sitting on the bed looking at each other.

"Hey, can I talk to Beth?" Maggie looked at me.

"Watch her." She told me before she left. I shut the door behind her.

I sat down next to Beth and said, "If you want to slit your wrists, cut along your arm, not across it."

Beth stared at me.

"Ooh, or maybe I could go grab one of those guns and you can just shoot yourself." I laid back on the bed, thinking of all the ways a person could kill themselves. "But, that's not ideal because it's loud and disgusting. I mean, your dad and Maggie and Patricia and Jimmy are gonna have to scrape your brains off the there's hanging yourself, but that takes forever. Maybe your best bet is to slit your wrists. It's almost painless and feels like falling asleep. Then again, shooting yourself is quicker, if you have the nerve."

Beth's eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly open.

"Look." I said. I sat up and took her hands in mine. "A couple of years ago my little brother Jackson drowned in a lake. He was eight. He'd be ten now. I thought I wanted to die, and I almost did." I released her hands and showed her my arms. There were two thick, diagonal scars, one on each arm. "My brother Tyler found me and took me to the hospital. They managed to stitch me up and they had to give me a couple of transfusions. If Tyler had found me just one minute later, I would have died. I have never wanted to live more than after that incident. I just don't want you to make a mistake that may haunt you for the rest of your life, or take away your chances at a 'rest of your life'."

Beth reached out and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back and we just sat like that for a few minutes. I released her first and told her I was going to get Maggie. Maggie went upstairs and didn't come down for a few hours. I sat in the kitchen and listened to Lori and Andrea bicker. One thing I learned while eavesdropping was that Lori was pregnant.

* * *

"Why can't you just let me win?" Carl asked.

"Because that's not how life works." I replied. Carl and I were sitting on the porch and I was teaching him how to play the card game Egyptian Rat.

"But I'm just a kid." He protested.

"Well I was just a kid when I learned how to play this game. My dad taught me and he never let me win. Not once."

"Your dad sounds mean."

"He was actually the nicest person I've ever known. With every loss, the fiery, burning need to crush him into the ground grew until I finally won."

We threw down a few more cards and I won again. Carl huffed air out of his nose.

"If we ever leave, we need to take these cards with us so I can show my brother how to play." Carl said.

"So you know you're mom's gonna have a baby?" I asked. I split deck in half and we started up another game. "And you hope it's going to be a boy?"

"Yeah."

"Have your parents ever told you how babies are made?"

"No. Mom said I had to wait until dad got home and that he'd tell me." A few minutes passed and I won again. Carl groaned.

"We aren't stopping until I win." Carl stated. I laughed. "How _are_ babies made, anyway? Do you know?"

"Why don't you just wait until Rick gets back?" I asked slowly.

"Because. He might not come back." Carl replied. I won again.

"He's going to come back." I looked Carl in eyes. "I know for a fact that nothing is going to keep that man from coming back to you and Lori and that baby."

We sat in silence for a little while longer. Carl was focusing all his energy on trying to win. I won all three of those games, but he was getting better.

"So, are you gonna tell me how babies are made?"

"Uh... well... nope." I laughed. "Your dad's going to come back and he's going to explain to you how their made."

"Oh c'mon! Is it really that bad?"

"You are a persistent little brat." I spat, still laughing. "No, it's not really that bad, but it's not my place. Now, if you want, we can keep playing and you can keep getting your ass kicked." He glared at me and I glared back and for the next hour we were locked in an epic battle.

Finally, Carl won. He jumped up and started cheering. Just then, a the green car came up the driveway. Carl stopped jumping and we watch the car park pull up and park. Rick and Shane stepped out and headed straight for the trunk. They opened the door and pulled a blindfolded Randall out and lead him to the barn.

What went wrong? Why did they bring Randall back? This was not good.

 **Author's Note: I'm sorry if Mel's naming all those methods of suicide touched a nerve about Beth or if Mel's talking about her brother was a little much but I wanted a different method of stopping Beth from killing herself and to help strengthen Beth's friendship with Mel. I'm a little iffy about this chapter, I feel like it's kind of dark, so I tried to brighten it there at the end.**


	15. Chapter 15

I stared at myself in the mirror. Bright red hair to the middle of my back. Green eyes and a splash of freckles across my cheeks and nose. I really did look like a leprechaun. I sighed and turned on the faucet. I rubbed water on my arms and touched the scars. Remnants of my moment of weakness. I dried off and headed downstairs. Shane and Rick had failed to let Randall go. There was a hoard of walkers at the school they were going to leave him at and they had no choice to bring him back.

I hadn't really spoken to Randall. Dixon "talked" to him earlier. He came back with blood on his knuckles. Dixon said that Randall had said that there were thirty men in his group with lots of guns and that they'd kill our men and our women would wish we were dead. That was when everyone realized we had a dilemma. Should we kill the kid, or let him go? I shook my head and walked away. I was talking a lot of walks nowadays. Then again, I took a lot of walks before. It was how I cleared my head. I would go on walks after fights with my brothers, when school was stressing me out, when the grief I carried for Jackson became too much to bare.

Walks were the perfect way to properly wrestle with big ideas like if I wanted Randall to die.

Dale was walking around trying to convince members of the group to side with him. He wanted Randall to live "to save our humanity." I avoided him like the plague.

Randall was a person. Rick had said in season one that they didn't kill the living. But he had just killed two men in that bar. So after that, it's okay to kill living people? Randall wasn't a threat. His group was a threat. Randall himself was not a threat. Why should we kill him because of his group? Because he could bring them back here. But what if he didn't? What if we gave him the chance to prove himself as an asset to the group? Maybe he could stay.

At sundown, we were going to discuss in Hershel's living room. Together, as a shambled shadow of society, we were going to decided whether or not to execute Randall. The vote to kill him was unanimous, but I felt like we owed him at least a long hard discussion. The end result may still be his death, but killing an innocent person shouldn't take five minutes to decide.

I felt a tug on the back of my shirt. I turned around and saw Carl. Carl. He reminded me so much of Jackson. So much that it hurt.

"If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell my parents?" He asked. Jackson would always say things like that and then show me a bead he had "kidnapped" from the crafts store.

"Depends..." I replied. Carl pulled out a gun and held it out to me. I had been taking a few shooting lessons with Hershel. He had been reluctant at first, but I convinced him to show me because I couldn't really look at Rick and Shane... well, he was Shane.

I took the gun from Carl and tucked it into the back of my waistband.

"What the hell, Carl?" I asked him.

"It's Daryl's. Give it back to him for me?" Carl turned and started to walk away.

"You give it back to him, Carl!" I called after him.

"No." Carl insisted. "I'm never touching another gun." Then he ran off. Whenever Jackson handed be that kidnapped bead, I would yell at him for stealing. He whine a little about liking it and then he'd promise never to do it again. That boy kept kidnapping beads until the day he died. I had a Mason jar in my room full of them.

I sighed and carried the gun around with me. I pulled my shirt over it so no one saw it. The sun was starting to go down and I decided it was time to go back to the farmhouse.

I stepped inside and walked over to where Glenn was sitting on the piano bench. I sat down next to him and he looked at me with a weird look on his face. I hadn't talked to him much in a while, hell, I hadn't really interacted with him or anyone else in a while, mostly Beth and sometimes Carl. I realized that day Beth wanted to kill herself that distancing myself wasn't the best idea. I was stuck here. I was never going home. I was never going to see my family again. Walkers and shooting people and guns and danger around every corner was my life now. I realized that I was still trapped in my old world. I was walking around like... well like I was on a TV show, I guess. After seeing Rick kill those men... it hit me, I was in a whole new world, I just hadn't realized it until Beth made it very clear: adapt or die, Darwin style.

Rick kicked off the meeting. "We have to discuss Randall."

"There's nothing to discuss." Shane opposed. "We have to kill him."

"I know that, but if anyone here wants to keep him alive, I wanna know why."

Dale stepped forward. "I guess, in that respect, it's just me and Glenn." Glenn looked up at Dale with a pained expression. "Glenn?"

"Look, he's part of a bigger group... and he knows where the farm is now... I..." Glenn trailed off.

"So that's it?" Dale exclaimed. "The fate of a human being decided in five minutes?"

"No." I piped up. Everyone in the room looked at me like they were just noticing my presence for the first time. "We owe it to Randall to really discuss this. He _is_ a person, and last I checked _we_ are people, too." Dale nodded in agreement.

"Mel, do you want to keep Randall alive?" Rick asked me directly.

"I think... he deserves a chance. To prove himself."

"So you want him alive..." Dale started, but I cut him off.

"I don't know what I want, but I believe people deserve at least one chance, and Randall hasn't gotten his." I stated.

"That's good enough for me." Dale replied. I could tell he was happy with my suggestion. I nodded in response and sat back against the piano.

I listened to the conversation go back and forth. We just couldn't come up with a good idea.

"If we do this," Dale started, "then we lose our humanity. Is it worth it? Killing this boy for a crime _he may not commit_ and losing our humanity in the process?"

"Dale's right." Andrea piped up. "We can't just kill him in cold blood." I had never liked Andrea, at least, not really, but in that moment I agreed with her. Tony and Dave were killed because they were going to kill us. Randall was only guilty _of_ association, it wasn't fair to kill him because he was with those people. I hadn't talked to the kid at all, but if the world was like it used to be, there's no way a court would put him to death.

"I'm sorry, Dale, but we have to." Rick said calmly.

"Fine. Fine!" Dale replied. "Kill him. Kill that _human being_." Dale turned to leave, but just before he did, he turned to Dixon and put a hand on his shoulder. "You're right, this group is broken." The Dale disappeared into the night. The group dispersed a little afterward. Shane, Rick, and Dixon headed out to the barn to shoot Randall. I followed Glenn back to camp.

"You talked in there." He said to me, smiling.

"Yeah." I replied. I looked down at my shoes. "I needed some time to process. I was ignoring things that I shouldn't have been ignoring and I finally realized those things."

"Like what kind of things?" Glenn asked.

"Like, this is the world I live in now. I'm probably never going home. I have to adapt to this new one, or die in my old one. I don't want to die, but I don't think I'm going to adapt as fast as I should."

Glenn nodded. "That's good, so you're gonna start talking to us more? I miss our chats."

"You mean the chats where you ask me if I need to puke after seeing a walker and I call you a pussy for not telling Maggie that you loved her?" I asked.

"You never called me a pussy."

"I just did."

"Well, I'm happy to report that I told Maggie that I loved her, and Hershel gave me his blessing."

I smiled. "That's great!" Glenn lead me back to the tent and showed me the silver pocket watch Hershel had given him. We sat down on the ground and chatted about nothing in particular. An hour or two later, Andrea found us.

"They're not going to kill Randall." She told us. I felt a weight lift off of my heart, a weight I had no idea had been there until that moment. "Have you seen Dale? I want to tell him the good news." Glenn and I both shook our heads, then we heard a scream.

Andrea bolted in the direction the scream had come from and Glenn and I jumped up and followed her. Rick got there first and tackled the walker off of the person on the ground. As I got closer, I saw that it was Dale, his stomach had been ripped open by the walker. I felt bile in my throat. This was going to take a few walks to get over.

"Hershel!" Rick screamed. "Someone get Hershel!" Hershel, Maggie, Dixon, and everyone else gathered around Dale. Hershel knelt down and tried to see what he could do.

"Rick..."

"We need to get him to the house." Rick interrupted.

"Rick, he won't make the trip." Hershel said as gently as he could. Rick looked like a broken man. He stood up and took a couple steps to his left. He pulled out his gun and pointed it at Dale's head.

"Wait!" I said quickly. I walked over to Dale's had and knelt down. "I just want you to know, Randall's going to live. We aren't going to kill him." I looked into Dale's eyes and knew that that was just the right thing to say, then I moved away and walked back to Glenn's side. He was trying not to cry. I tossed my arm across his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. I felt someone pass me and saw Carl getting close to the dead walker. He turned around quickly with tears in his eyes an ran to his mother. I remembered the gun he had handed me earlier and the way he had been acting, like he was hiding something. The gun in my waistband burned against my skin.

I looked up just in time to see Dixon take the gun out of Rick's hand, and shoot Dale.


	16. Chapter 16

We buried Dale the next day. Right next to Sophia. I stood behind Carl and had my arms wrapped around his neck, warm drops of liquid leaking out of his eyes and falling onto my arm. Afterward, I asked him to take a walk with me.

"So Carl..." He cut me off.

"The walker that killed Dale, I almost killed him." Carl started. We were a fair enough distance away that no one was going to hear us. "I took Daryl's gun. The walker was stuck in the mud. I had the gun pointed at its head but it got loose a little and I fell down. I left it there, and it musta gotten out and..." Tears welled up in Carl's eyes again.

"Hey." I dropped an arm across his shoulders. I still hadn't given Dixon back his gun. "It's okay, it's not your fault little man." I ruffled his hair. "Let's just keep walking around for a bit, huh? It's nice to just wander with no real destination."

"Is that why you took so many walks before?" He asked.

"Yep, it helps me think." I looked down at him. "Maybe it'll help you, too." We walked around in silence for another hour until I figured it was about time we got back. Hershel was planning on letting us move into the farmhouse and though there wasn't much stuff to move, there was still plenty of things for everyone to do.

I helped Glenn pack up our tent and then set about helping where ever else I could always keeping an eye on Carl, always having Dixon's gun in my waistband. I wasn't a hundred percent sure if I was going to give it back or not. He and Rick were going to take Randall out again, this time they were going out one hundred miles instead of eighteen, just for good measure, maybe I'll give it to him then.

"You can put yourself in my room." Hershel was telling Lori.

"I couldn't do that, the living room is just fine." Lori protested.

"I couldn't sleep well in my bed all to myself knowing that a pregnant woman and a child were sleeping on the floor." Lori opened her mouth to protest again when T-Dog interrupted.

"I'll take it." He smirked a little and Lori turned back to Hershel.

"Thank you, Hershel."

"The couch is mine." Hershel called after T-Dog. "I'm sorry to say that during my drinking days, that couch and I became old friends." Lori patted Hershel's arm and walked up into the farmhouse. I followed Lori and Glenn followed me.

"The men are in there." Lori told Glenn, jerking her head toward the dining room. He moved in that direction and I looked around the living room to find a spot on the floor.

"You can put yourself in my room." I heard Maggie say.

"With your dad in the house?" I could practically hear Glenn's jaw hit the floor.

"Pussy." I called. Patricia gave me a look and I coughed into my hand. "Sorry, something in my throat." She shook her head in disapproval and walked away.

I heard Maggie laugh. Glenn poked his head into the living room and glared at me.

I shrugged. "What? You are! You are a grown ass man, move in with your grown ass woman."

"There's no cursin' in the house!" Patrica called out to me.

"Patricia, I am just coughing!" I called back, coughing into my hand. "Jesus. Can't say nothin'." Maggie laughed again.

"Beth wants you to put yourself in her room. You two seem to have gotten pretty close."

I shrugged. "I think she's glad that there's someone her age walking around that isn't Jimmy. I know I would be." I slung my backpack over my shoulder, I had set it down in the corner of the room to mark it as my area, and headed upstairs. I knocked on Beth's door and walked inside.

"Hey." She said. "So Maggie told you I wanted you in here?"

"Yeah, thanks." Beth nodded and I hung my backpack on the hook behind the door.

"Is that all you have?" Beth asked.

"Well, when you fall asleep in one place and wake up in another, you don't really have time to pack anything, do you?"

"I guess not." Beth chuckled. I looked around the room and decided I needed to go back downstairs to help move the rest of the stuff into the house.

"I'm gonna go finish helping." I told Beth. She nodded and turned her attention elsewhere.

* * *

Rick and Dixon were just about to head out with Randall when a problem arose. Randall was missing. T-Dog went to fetch him and found him gone. Everyone gathered around the shed he had been tied up in.

"He must have slipped the chains, they're still latched." Rick told us. He stepped out of the shed just as Shane was walking, more like stomping, over.

"He jumped me! That bastard got out and jumped me, took my gun." Shane was bleeding from his nose. I found it hard to believe that that little boy had gotten free, broken Shane's nose, overpowered him long enough to take his gun, then ran off. That just didn't seen plausible to me.

"We need to get him." Shane told everyone.

"Why can't we just let him go?" Carol asked. "Wasn't that the plan, to let him go?"

"We were supposed to let him go miles from here." Rick explained. "Glenn, Daryl, you two come with me and Shane. We're gonna track Randall down."

"I need a gun." Shane interjected. Glenn, Daryl, Shane, and Rick armed themselves and walked into the woods.

"Get back to the house and lock the door." Rick shot over his shoulder. I stood still for a minute, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I felt a hand slip into mine. I glanced over and saw Carl.

"C'mon." He said, tugging at my arm. I ran back to the farm house with Carl and locked the door behind us.

Everyone was on edge for the rest of the day and into the night.

Carl came up to me after a while. "I want to help find Randall."

"Well, you're not going to."

"Your right. I'm not going to." He repeated. "At least, not alone."

I looked at the boy, so much like my brother, right in the eye. "Be clear, Carl, what are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that we go look for Randall. The two of us." He replied.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not."

"No."

"Then give me Daryl's gun and I'll go alone."

"I thought you never wanted to touch another gun again." I smirked. I got him.

"That's why I wanted you to come with me, so I'd be protected and I wouldn't need to have the gun myself."

Shit. This kid was good. There was no way I was going to give him the gun. And there was no way I was going to let him leave, but I knew that look in his eye. Nothing, not even his own mother I bet, was going to stop him from sneaking out of this house and looking for Randall.

I sighed in defeat. Carl grinned.


	17. Chapter 17

I grabbed my backpack and shoved some more ammo I stole from Dixon's stuff inside. I took an empty water bottle and the blue zippo lighter and two boxes of matches Glenn had found for me on a run one day and tucked them into my bag. Before we left, though, I insisted that Carl carry a gun. I couldn't lie, it was exciting sneaking out of the house to look for Randall, but I wasn't going out there with just me armed. Carl reluctantly took the gun and tucked it into his waistband.

We snuck out of the house through one of the windows on the second floor. I jumped down first and caught Carl as he jumped down. The last thing I needed was to be yelled at for letting Carl break his leg. You know, if Rick didn't kill me for enabling first.

I stole some gas from one of the cans in one of the cars and poured it into my water bottle. I'll admit, I was a bit of a pyromaniac. Like, I've done time, or at least community service, because of my itchy, fire-prone hands. You could always count on me having matches or lighters and a little bit of gasoline on my person at all times.

* * *

Thank God Hershel showed me how to shoot. This would have been a way worse idea if I didn't. Then again, this was a really horrible idea, tramping about the woods looking for a random kid with walkers shambling about.

Carl was crazy.

He was honest to God nuts.

And I was insane for going along with him.

Insane

When Carl suggested we walk deeper into the woods, I refused with every fiber of my being. Carl was getting frustrated.

"We have to find him!" Carl cried. I slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, dumb ass." I hissed. "Who _knows_ what's out there."

He glared at me and tore my hand away from his mouth. "We need to go farther in."

"Then you're going to look for Randall yourself." I replied. I stormed off.

"Hey wait!" Carl called after me and ran over. "Okay, I'm sorry."

"Maybe Glenn, Daryl, Rick, and Shane found Randall and are back at the house." I suggested. Carl nodded. "The hell are we gonna tell them when we get back?"

"I dunno." Carl admitted.

I laughed.

Then there was a gun shot.

We stopped and looked at each other.

"Maybe they really did find Randall." I said. We were already heading in the direction of the gun shot, so we were soon going to find out what had happened. After a while, we were walking on a field and could see the farmhouse lights in the distance. I noticed something laying in the tall grass. As we got closer, we saw that it was Shane.

Shane was dead.

* * *

*Lori's P.O.V.*

Daryl and Glenn finally came back.

"We found Randall, he was a walker." Glenn started.

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asked.

"That's the thing. He wasn't bit." Daryl explained.

Oh, God. Rick. Where was Rick? And Shane.

"Daryl, could you go back out there and find Rick for me, please?" I asked.

"Sure thing." Daryl nodded and headed out of the room.

 _Please, please, please, find Rick. Please. I needed him. I needed him to know how sorry I am about Shane. I haven't gotten the chance to fix it yet._ I silently prayed.

"Hey, Lori." Daryl called from the porch. I ran out to him and saw Rick at the bottom of the stairs.

Oh thank God.

But where was Shane?

"Where's Shane?" Andrea asked. Rick opened his mouth but a piercing scream filled the air. Then there was a gun shot. All our heads snapped up and looked toward where the sounds had come from.

Walkers. More than I had ever seen. And they were heading right toward us.

I ran inside to look for Carl, but I couldn't find him anywhere.

* * *

*Mel's P.O.V.*

Shane was dead. Tears welled in Carl's eyes. I knelt down in front of him.

"I'm not going to tell you it's okay because it's not." I told him. "Just cry if you need to cry or..." Suddenly, something tackled me from behind. I screamed at the top of my lungs as Shane, walker-Shane, tried to eat my face off. I heard another gun shot but it sounded like miles away, and Shane stopped moving. I pushed myself up and looked down. Shane had a bullet hole in his head.

Oh my God. I was just attacked by a walker. Again.

"Are you okay?" Carl asked me.

"Are you okay?" I replied. "You just killed your friend."

"He was going to kill you." Carl looked past me toward Shane. I carefully stood up and stood next to Carl, both of us looking down at Shane.

"We should head back." I said quietly. Carl nodded and we walked side-by-side in silence. I was so caught up in my own head that I didn't hear the strange noises that were following us. I looked around and saw a huge horde of walkers following us. I guess because Carl and I were walking in silence, they hand't noticed us, but I finally noticed them. I grabbed Carl's arm and pulled him after me. We crouched behind a tree and looked around.

"We need to get back to the farmhouse." Carl whispered.

"We won't make it." I replied. My brain was a little all over the place. I was scared out of my mind and I had no idea what we were going to do. I kept thinking about the absurdity of the situation I was in right now. I was surrounded by a horde of walkers with a little boy that doesn't exist. I took a deep breath and looked around.

The walkers were still coming, but they hand't noticed us yet.

I looked past a couple of them and saw the barn.

Perfect.

"Carl." I turned him to look at me. "You take my hand and you don't let go, not for anything. We're going to make a run for the barn. You got that? We are making a run for the barn, do not let go of my hand." Carl nodded vigorously. He took my hand and I put my track and field sprinter skills to work, hoping Carl could keep up.

He kept up better than I thought he would, but he was panting and gripping his side when we made it into the barn. I shut the doors and latched them. I backed up ad pushed Carl behind me.

"What do we do know?"

"Uh..." I looked around. The barn was full of hay and not much else. Carl and I both had popped off some rounds on our way to the barn. There was no way, even with the ammo in my bag and a chance to reload, were we going to shoot our way through this horde.

Hay. Hay. _Hay was flammable._ And this barn was old as dirt, the wood was dry and it would burn fast like kindling.

"Carl, get up to the hayloft." I swung my backpack off of my back and pulled out the water bottle and a box of matches. This was no time to lose a lighter. I handed Carl the matches and pushed him toward the ladder that would take him up to the hayloft. "Go, Carl!" I yelled at him. He scurried off and I put my backpack back on my back. I looked at the red water bottle full of gasoline. Hell no there wasn't enough gas to burn the walkers to death, but there was definitely enough to get a fire going.

I started hitting the barn doors. "Hey assholes!" I called out. "Butt munchers, in here!" I pulled the piece of wood out of the door that acted as a latch and retreated deeper into the barn, sprayed the first walkers with gas. I ran up the ladder and poured the rest of the gas out and tossed the water bottle. In the grand scheme of things, I'm pretty sure no one was going care that I lost a fucking water bottle.

"Carl, light it up." I yelled over the sound of walkers. He struck almost half the box of matches and tossed them down to the walkers. I grabbed straw and hay from the hayloft and tossed it down, hoping to make the fire eat the barn faster. It sort of worked. Before too long, orange tongues of flame licked up the barn's walls. The fire really liked the barn. I would have loved to have stayed and watched, it really was beautiful, but Carl was tugging at my sleeve.

"Mel. Mel! The RV!" I turned around and looked out the window. Sure enough, the RV was right there.

"Okay, jump!" I yelled. We jumped down onto the RV and I climbed down the ladder, raining bullets like brimstone. I caught Carl as he was coming down and accidentally missed a rung. We ran around to the front of the RV, but it was overrun. I grabbed Carl by the back of his shirt and pulled him after me. There was a hole in the horde and we needed to get through it if we wanted any chance at survival.


	18. Chapter 18

"Mel, walker." Carl called to me. I had been sitting in Hershel's car, cold and stoic. Nothing I had seen that day was really hitting me yet. I hopped out of the car and rummaged around the trunk and found a crowbar. I took it in my hands and shoved it through the eye of the walker. Things like that and walker-Shane were going to come back and bite me in the ass tonight when I had to go to sleep.

I held the crowbar in both hands and looked around, checking to see if there were anymore walkers. I didn't see any, so I walked away back toward the car. Everything was silent around us. I couldn't believe how much I missed the sounds of the old world. Car horns, airplanes overhead, blaring radios. I remembered all those sounds so vividly that I almost didn't realize that I was legitimately hearing the sound of an engine. I looked up and around and saw Dixon on his bike with Carol in back. The blue truck came after and the green Hondai after that.

"Carl." I said.

"I see them." He replied. They all pulled up and Lori lunged out of the blue truck before T-Dog even had a chance to park it. Rick at least waited until Glenn parked the Hondai, but he almost tore the door off trying to get out. The both embraced Carl so tightly I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head.

"You." Lori's relief at seeing her son dissipated almost instantly. "How the _hell_ could you let him do that?"

"I wasn't going to let him go out alone." I replied calmly. I wanted to try to handle this like sensible people, but Lori wanted to rip me a new one instead.

"So you thought you'd go with him? You don't even know how to shoot! You shouldn't have let him go out at all!" Lori exclaimed.

"I know how to shoot." I shot back. "Hershel taught me because I didn't want Rick or Shane to. It was right after the bar incident. I thought it'd be safer if someone went with him than if he had gone alone. There's no way in hell you would have been able to stop him from doing it anyway." I was really trying not to yell. I didn't want attract any walkers.

"It doesn't really matter if you know how to shoot or not." Lori spat. "You shouldn't have let him go. Neither of you should have gone! You could have died!" She held Carl's face in her hands and looked into his face. "Did you even think of that? Did you even consider the possibility that you would die? And what would you have done if you found Randall?"

"Randall was a walker," Dixon explained. "long before those two went out there."

"There." I said. "It's fine. We didn't find Randall, we made it out of the farm. It's okay now."

If looks could kill.

"Randall was a walker? Did you find the one that bit him?"

"That's the thing." Dixon replied. "He wasn't bit. I'm thinking Shane killed him like he always wanted to."

"About Shane..." Rick said.

"He was a walker, too." I said.

"What?" Lori asked.

"Shane was a walker, too. He attacked me and Carl took him out. He didn't look bitten either."

"He attacked you?" Glenn piped up. "Did he bite you?"

"I don't think so, no." I replied. "I'm fine... in a sense." Glenn nodded.

"So how did Shane die?" Dixon asked. Lori was looking at her son like she no longer recognized him.

"It kind of looked like he had been stabbed." I said. "Oh, and here's your gun back, Dixon." I held the gun out to him.

"You stole my gun?" He barked at me, snatching it out of my hand.

"Yeah I stole it." I replied. "Fuck off." He glared at me and tucked the gun in the back of his waistband.

"Bitch. Don't touch my stuff."

"So... you want your ammo back, too?" I smirked as his arms went slack and his face took on a look of disbelief. I pulled my backpack off my back and dug through it for the box of bullets. I handed it to him and he roughly snatched those out of my hand, too.

"Where's Patricia?" Hershel asked.

"They took her from me." Beth squeaked. "I had her hand and they..." She couldn't speak for a minute then she asked, "And Jimmy? He was in the RV." Beth looked me in the eye.

"It was overrun." I said quietly. Beth sobbed into her father's chest.

"And Andrea?" Maggie asked.

"She went down." Lori said.

We stood in silence for a moment.

"Hey Rick, you were going to say something about Shane?" I piped up.

"Yeah. Shane." Rick paused. His face was pained. He had something to tell us, he just didn't know how to say it.

"Rip off the band-aid, Rick, spit it out." I said.

"Shane tried to kill me." Rick said finally. "I killed him instead. I had to. There was no way he was going to be able to keep us safe. He tried to kill me first."

Shane was the real psycho. Thank God someone killed him finally.

"We're all infected." Rick added. "No matter how we die, we turn into a walker."

"When did you find out about that?" Glenn asked.

"Jenner, at the CDC. He told me. I didn't believe him until what you said about Randall and Shane."

"And you didn't tell us?" Glenn exclaimed. "I told everyone about the barn because that was the right call."

"I thought keeping this a secret was the right call." Rick replied. "Want does it matter, now? How are we going to change it?"

"We should get moving." Dixon said. He stepped forward and shot a walker in the head with his crossbow. "We can chat later."

Glenn walked over to me. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." I replied. "I'm fine." He looked like he didn't believe me. "Really. I'm fine." T-Dog and Daryl set about siphoning gas from the other cars. I decided to make myself useful somehow and started rifling through the cars looking for supplies. After a few hours, some of those spent sleeping restlessly, we set off to... God knows where.


	19. Chapter 19

We were running. We hadn't stopped running for months. We couldn't afford to. Lori's belly was growing fast and the walker horde was growing even faster. We needed to find a safe place for her to have the baby, the only problem was that there weren't any safe places left. With every move, I could see the spirits of the group going down and fading.

This was especially true one freezing night when Beth said, "If I kept track right, it's Christmas Day." Everyone looked at her and blew it off. We had been scavenging for blankets and other warm things through our travels, but there still weren't enough blankets to go around. T-Dog was using a blanket stitched together from towels. Granted, towels were actually warmer than most blankets, but they were still towels.

We were all splayed out on the floor of an abandoned house. We were in the smallest room that didn't have a hole in the ceiling. That being said, the room was still too big to keep everyone sort of warm solely on body heat. That was how we survived most of the colder nights. We all piled into the smallest room and hoped our collective body heat would help keep everyone warm. Sometimes it worked and other times it didn't, like tonight.

After Beth's comment, Carl said, "How's Santa going to find us?" I looked up just in time to see Rick send Beth a death glare. She smiled back apologetically.

"Maybe Santa's a walker." I suggested.

"Really?" Carl asked.

"Well, the walker virus affects people, Santa's a person with an unusually long lifespan, so why not?"

"Are the elves walker's, too?"

"No, I don't think so. They're elves, not people. They probably had no idea what was going on with Santa so they scurried on home to their elf families. Poor Mrs. Clause, though." I sighed.

"Is she a walker, too?"

"Maybe." I really didn't want to give him the mental image of Santa eating Mrs. Clause.

"What about the reindeer?"

"Maybe one of the elves set them free. They can fly by themselves you know."

"Why can't the elves deliver the toys?" Carl asked sadly.

"Because they only know how to make the toys, they have no idea how to deliver them, that was Santa's job."

"Oh. Okay. So Santa's not coming this year because he's a walker. I guess that makes sense.

"You _guess_ that makes sense?" I asked exaggeratedly. "It makes hella sense, kid."

Carl laughed. "Those poor elves, though."

"Those poor reindeer. My favorite was always Rudolph."

"Poor Santa." Carl yawned. He laid his head on my shoulder and fell asleep.

"Thank you for that." Lori said. "I really had no idea how to tell him that Santa didn't actually exist."

"But Santa being a walker isn't much better." Dixon commented.

"Santa never visited your house as a child, did he?" I asked him.

"Santa don't exist."

"Hmm. That explains a lot."

"The hell does that mean?"

"Oh... nothing." I pulled Carl close to me and shut my eyes. I hadn't been sleeping well since, well, since I got here, really. I kept myself busy, though. Like tonight for instance. Once I was sure everyone was asleep, I snuck out and made my way to the firewood. This house didn't have a fireplace we could use but we hauled the wood around just in case we needed it. I picked up one block and headed out into the living room. The moon was full and was filtering in through the windows. It was just enough light to carve by.

My Gramps had shown me how to whittle and carve wood when I was too little to be allowed to hold a knife. I broke the block in two and got to work. I worked the first half into a stag about the size of my hand. The second half was worked into a crossbow. I even put flames on it. I cleaned up my mess and made sure no one would find the shavings, then I walked back into the room we were all sleeping in and put the stag next to Carl and the crossbow next to Dixon, then I curled up with Carl and fell into a fitful sleep.

When I woke up, Carl was carrying his stag around proudly. "Look, Mel! Santa's not a walker!"

I laughed. "That's good." I looked over at Dixon. "Did Santa bring you something too, little Dixon?" I asked sweetly. He glared at me.

I gasped. "Is that a little crossbow?" Beth was cracking up. "That's adorable."

"Bitch." He hissed at me.

I smirked. "If you rearrange the letters in 'Santa' you get 'Satan'." I replied. Beth laughed so hard at that that she snorted. Which set me off and before the end of a minute we were rolling on the ground laughing our asses off. At least we were warmer than everyone else.

Despite how much he obviously hated the present, I never saw Dixon toss it away with my own eyes. I bet he still did, he just made sure I wasn't watching.

For a moment, I felt bad for calling him a psycho.

* * *

Months later, we found the prison.

"Fences, walls, it's perfect." Rick told us after Dixon had shown it to him.

"Yeah, and infested." Glenn pointed out.

"If we clear out the yard, that'll give us a good head start." Rick replied.

"Yeah, we just have to clear out the yard. How hard could that be?" Glenn said shrugging nonchalantly but obviously worried.

We headed down to the prison. Rick cut a hole in the fence just large enough for all of us to slip through. Glenn wove a rubber cord through the sides of the hole in the fence and pulled it closed.

Rick was spouting orders. "We need to close the gate on the other side of the yard. Once we do that, we can take out the walkers in the yard." Rick handed out guns and doled out instructions. "Carol, you're a good shot, but take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waist." He handed her a rifle. He handed out a few more hand guns and some more ammo. "Get up to the guard towers. You'll be able to get more walkers from up there." He turned to Lori, Hershel, and Beth. "Stay down here and make noise. Attract the walkers while I go and close the gate on the other side of the yard."

"No, you're not going to do that it's a suicide mission." Lori protested.

"Lori..."

"I'll go." Glenn suggested.

"No." Maggie said firmly.

"I'll go, no one cares about me." I said, only slightly joking.

"No." Beth protested. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dixon glance at me.

"Well someone has to go and I think we can all agree I'm the faster runner." I replied.

"Okay, Mel's going." Rick said finally. It took everything in my power not to rub it into everyone else's face that I won. Rick handed me a gun with a silencer on it and some extra bullets, then he handed me some clamps with a chain connecting them. Dixon met me at the gate leading into the yard from the walkway we were standing in and looked at me.

"Ready?"

"I can't not be ready, can I?" I replied. "What a stupid question." He glared at me but pulled he fence open.

"If you die, I won't care." He murmured. I chuckled.

As soon as Dixon opened the gate, I ran out and sprinted toward the fence on the other side of the yard. I took out two walkers on my way up and closed the gate, clamping it shut. I turned to the guard tower and opened the door, I took out five more walkers and shut the door behind me so no more could get in. I ran to the top and started taking out walkers in the yard.


	20. Chapter 20

We sat around a campfire eating a couple of possums Dixon had hunted down. It wasn't much, but it was more than we've had in a while.

"Just like mom used to make." Glenn remarked, throwing a bone out into the yard. I chuckled. I was looking around and trying to figure out what we were going to do with all this space.

"The soil's good." Hershel said. "We could grow crops. Cucumbers, tomatoes..."

"Even though tomatoes are evil." I interjected. Hershel shook his head at me but a smile played on his lips.

I was going to find a soccer ball. I would teach Carl, and anyone else who wants, how to play soccer right over there in that corner.

"That's his third time around." Carol nodded toward Rick. He was looking for a weak spot in the fence and had indeed walked the perimeter three times.

I was going to run around the perimeter the same way I had run around my property back home when I was training for cross country or track.

"I'll go talk to him." Lori stated. T-Dog hopped up and helped Lori to her feet.

I was going to turn one of those watch towers into a club house, if Rick allowed me to. Maybe I'll string up a bunch of zip lines.

"I better bring Daryl something to eat. If I don't, he won't eat." Carol said, standing up. Dixon was perched on a broken down bus we found and had managed to move a little so it was in front of the gate. I looked over at him.

God knows how many places there were to hide in inside the prison. Places big enough to, I don't know, stuff a crossbow in? I smiled to myself. I could see us having a future here. I really did.

Carol, Dixon, Lori, and Rick finally came back to the campfire and sat down. Glenn handed Rick a little portion of food and Rick held it out to Lori. She wanted to protest, but his arm wasn't moving. She took a small piece to satisfy him and then he started to eat what was left.

"What are you smiling about?" Beth asked me. I hadn't noticed that I was still doing it.

"Oh, uh, I was imagining all the things we could do here." I replied.

"Yeah, it's a good place to have the baby." Beth agreed. I nodded. The baby was going to be safe in here, as soon as it's cleared out, of course.

"Beth why don't you sing a song for us?" Hershel suggested. "What's that one I haven't heard since..."

"No one wants to hear." Beth interrupted.

"Do you know 'Danny Boy'?" I asked "You're Irish, so you better. I know I do."

"So you're officially Irish?" Glenn teased.

"What gave it away?" I shot back, laughing. I turned back to Beth.

"No, actually, I don't." Beth admitted.

"It's okay. I'll teach you later. How about 'The Parting Glass'?" Beth nodded and cleared her throat. I cleared mine and together we sang 'The Parting Glass'. Maggie joined in after a bit, and it was one of those moments that you wished you could stay in forever, but you knew you couldn't.

As the fire died, we all fell asleep.

* * *

My dream was so vivid, it felt real. I hadn't dreamed since getting here, but tonight, I did.

I was home, with my mom and dad and brothers, Mike, Brandon, Tyler, and Cody. I hugged them so hard I thought I was going to kill them. They asked me where I had been and what I had been up to. I couldn't tell them the truth, they'd have me locked up. I was so happy, my heart almost exploded. Brandon, who had always been my personal chauffeur, took me to see Jackson's grave and back to school to see my friends and favorite teachers. Mike set up the tent in the front yard and the two of us sat and looked up at the stars. Tyler helped me train for the track season. Cody played in the mud as five-year-olds do sometimes and we got locked into an epic mud-ball fight, which is kind of like a snowball fight, except with mud.

Cody launched a mud-ball and it hit me in the chest, waking me up.

I stayed with my eyes shut tight. I was afraid that if I opened them, I'd be home. Which was weird. All I've wanted to do for the past eight months or so was go home. But now that I may actually be home, I wasn't sure if I wanted that anymore. How the hell was I going to fit in at home again? Granted, I never really fit in anywhere there, I only had one friend that wasn't related to me, and our "friendship" wasn't really a friendship at all, just two people with no niche, hanging out together because what the hell else were they supposed to do?

I reached out my hand and felt grass. I was still lying on cold, hard ground. I sat up and looked around. The sun was just beginning to rise and I was still surrounded by the people who took me in when they had no reason to. I breathed a sigh of release before I noticed that not everyone was asleep.

"Nightmare?" Dixon asked.

"What do you care?" I replied.

"I don't."

"So why'd you ask?" He huffed air out of his nose and turned away from me.

He was so annoying.

* * *

*Daryl's P.O.V.*

She was so annoying. But she probably found me annoying in a different way than I found her annoying. She liked to say things to me and see what I'd say back. Usually, I wouldn't say anything back to people like her, but I liked the way she smiled. I liked her hair and her eyes and her freckles. I even liked the crossbow she made me for Christmas, which I bet she thought I threw away. I liked that no matter what, she was always cheerful, even if she was bone tired. Even after everything that's happened. Mel was annoying. But only because I actually kind of liked her a little, and not in friend or sister sort of way.

Like hell I was going to tell her that, though.

She'd probably make fun of me for it or have some sort of remark to it. I couldn't think of anything she'd say, but I was sure she was going to call me 'Dixon'. She thought I hated it, and from anyone else I would have.

For just a minute, I let myself wonder if she was thinking the same things I was thinking about her. Probably not. Like I said, she probably found me annoying in a completely different way than I found her.

I shook my head and focused my attention on the gate that separated us from the walkers in the prison.


	21. Chapter 21

Rick, T-Dog, Maggie, Glenn, and Dixon cleared out one of the cell blocks later that day.

"We can sleep in the cells." Rick explained. No one looked too pleased with that, but what else was there to do?

"I ain't sleepin' in no cage." Dixon said. "I'll take the perch."

"Take the perch then, Dixon. It's the perfect place to string up your walker ears." I told him. He glared at me. I smiled back and turned away. I looked at the two floors of cells and decided to take the one on the second floor all the way to the right. It was out of the way and I know if I had a nightmare, I wouldn't bother anyone. I know I've been bothering people, and I didn't mean to, I can't control my dreams, but they've gotten progressively worse. At least if I get wracked with insomnia again, like I have been few time over the last eight months, then I can do stuff in my cell and not bother anyone.

I headed up the stairs and dropped my bag on the bottom bunk. "Call it!" I called out.

"Why do you want that one?" Beth asked. I walked over to the railing and looked down.

"Because I want it." I replied. "It's far away from you because I hate you." Beth laughed and turned toward one of the cells on the ground floor.

"Once everyone's settled in, we should go find the infirmary." Rick stated. There wasn't much to settle, but everyone claimed a cell and put down their meager belongings. Rick made me stay behind this time, too. It was like he didn't remember that I killed seven walkers all by my lonesome just yesterday. I was really trying to prove to everyone that I was useful. I mean, I went on runs with Glenn all the time. We did it so often that we were in sync with each other. But I wanted to do more than that.

Hershel had shown me how to shoot and was teaching me a few things about the more common injuries we were probably going to sustain, like sprained wrists and ankles. I wanted to learn how to hunt and track, too, but only Dixon knew how to do that and like hell he was going to teach me.

So all I was good for was going on runs and making sure Glenn got back to Maggie, wrapping up the occasional sprained ankle, and watching Carl.

I watched Carl a lot after he shot walker-Shane. I was afraid it had changed him. And I was right.

Glenn, Maggie, Rick, T-Dog, Dixon, and Hershel went off to clear a way and find the cafeteria. Lori was due any day now, but Hershel was confident that she wasn't going to have the baby today, so Rick prioritized and decided that they needed to find the cafeteria first.

Rick handed Carl a set of keys, Dixon had the other set, and Carl locked the cell block gate behind them as they headed off. There were a couple of picnic tables on the ground floor and I walked down the stairs and sat down. Carl came over and sat across from me. He put the gun on the table and pulled out a deck of cards.

"New rule." I stated. "No weapons on the table." Carl looked at me an sighed. He pulled the gun off the table and put it on the seat next to him. "Thank you, Carl." He was really excited about having the gun, I could tell. He was excited and happy and proud that his dad trusted him enough to carry one and to help clear out houses during the winter.

Carl dealt the deck of cards, I had found it on a run with Glenn once, and we started playing Egyptian Rat. An hour and about thirty-something games later, I had won all but two of them, we heard yelling. I gathered up the cards and Carl took up his gun and ran to the gate.

"It's Hershel!" Rick yelled. "Carl open the gate." Carl unlocked the gate and pulled it open. Rick wheeled in a table with Hershel passed out on top.

"What happened?" I cried. Hershel was missing the lower part of his right leg and it was bleeding profusely.

"He got bit." Rick said, wheeling Hershel into one of the cells. Carol, Lori, Maggie, and Rick carefully but Hershel on the bottom bunk. Carol set to work trying to do what she could with Hershel's leg. I looked around and noticed Dixon still in the waiting area outside the cell block itself. I looked where he was looking and saw others.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Survivors. They were in the cafeteria." Rick said. He left Hershel and joined Dixon.

"Mel, could you go get some towels, please?" Lori asked. I ran around and found as many towels and sheets and stuff that I could, just in case. Carol did what she could with Hershel's leg but...

"We can't do much. If we try to burn the end to stop the bleeding, that could send him into shock. We're just going to have to keep the wound from getting infected. It should stop bleeding on its own."

"Is he going to die?" Beth started crying.

"No. No he's not, sweetie, your father's going to be fine." Lori told her. I put my arm around Beth's shoulder and led her away. We sat down on one of the picnic tables and I let her cry.

She wiped her tears away after a few minutes and then got up and walked away.

"Hey." Carl nudged my shoulder. "Will you come with me somewhere?"

I glared at him. "The last time you asked me on an adventure, we almost died."

"We won't almost die this time, but Hershel might."

I stared at Carl. "You want to find the infirmary." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. If we don't Hershel might die."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not. Do you still have that gun Dad gave you yesterday?"

Of course I still had the gun, I made a point of not returning it. "I mean, yeah, but..."

"No, c'mon." Carl looked at me earnestly. I sighed. Why did I always go against my intuition when it came to Carl? I mean, I even took the blame for him with Dixon's gun after the farm and let Lori yell at me even though looking for Randall was Carl's idea.

Carl smiled at me and together we went off to look for the infirmary.

* * *

We found a duffle bag and filled it with as much as we could. Bandages, antiseptic, antibiotics. Finding the infirmary was easy, it actually wasn't too far away from C-Block, which is where we were staying. Getting back to C-Block was a different story.

I guess we had made more noise than we thought. Two walkers met us in one of the hallways. Carl shot one and I, arguably being the smartest person in the relationship, had brought a knife and stabbed the second walker in the head. Luckily, Carl's gun had a silencer on it.

The rest of the way back was uneventful. Carl ran into the cell where Hershel lay maybe dying and handed Carol the duffle bag.

"Where did you get this?" Lori asked.

"The infirmary. Don't worry, Mel went with me." Lori looked at me. I had made my way to the door.

"Again? You did this _again_?" Lori asked me.

"It was my idea." Carl protested. "It's not a big deal, Mom. I can handle myself, and so can Mel."

"You realize he's just a child, right?" Lori spat. "You should have said no, between the two of you, you are the adult."

"Thanks." I said flatly.

"No, I meant-" Lori started.

"I know what you meant." I walked away. I didn't much care for Lori. She was selfish. Sleeping with Shane _and_ Rick. Having Carl and the baby and then having the nerve to say she's had it just as rough as the rest of us? I don't think so.

I stayed with Beth. I even taught her how to play Egyptian Rat to help her forget about Hershel.

"You're worse than Carl!" I laughed. "At least he won by now." Beth tried to laugh, but just couldn't manage it. I understood. Her father might be dying.

There was a commotion in the other cell and Maggie started screaming. Beth and I jumped up and ran next door. Maggie was bent over Hershel and Hershel's arm was wrapped around her head. Beth pulled on Maggie while I pulled on Hershel's arm. Hershel released Maggie and the two girls stumbled backward and I let go of his arm. Lori and Glenn were just inside the door, watching with terrified faces. Rick had handcuffed Hershel to the bunk bed just in case he didn't pull through and he woke up as... well, not himself.

Hershel took a deep breath and looked at all of us in turn. His gaze lingered on Maggie and Beth before he shut his eyes and fell asleep.

"He's going to be fine." I stated after a minute. "He's just going to fall over a bunch of times."

Beth finally laughed, and Maggie joined her.

 **Author's Note: This chapter is sort of boring. I wasn't really sure what to do and wasn't too inspired but I got through it. I'll try to make up for that and post another chapter later today.**


	22. Chapter 22

It was a nice day outside. Rick had decided that we should point the cars toward the exits in case we needed to get out of the prison fast.

Needless to say I wasn't really helping, I was enjoying the nice day. Beth, Lori, Carl, and Hershel were still inside the cell block. I was making rounds in the walkway between the outer fence and the inner fence which allowed access to the outer guard towers. Around the back, the fence was down somewhere and walkers were everywhere. I avoided that walk way, so I mostly just walked in a sort of half moon shape.

As I was walking around the entrance, I saw Axel and Oscar working their way down to Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, Carol, Dixon, Maggie, and Glenn. There had been five prison survivors and Axel and Oscar were the only two left. The leader, Thomas, had killed one of the other survivors and in turn Rick had killed Thomas for trying to kill him. The other one, Andrew, was dead, too. From what T-Dog had told me about Thomas and Andrew, good riddance. I never talked to the one Thomas had killed. Axel and Oscar, though, they seemed nice enough to me.

"Please, mister, we can't stay in there." Axel was telling Rick. "Dead bodies everywhere. We knew most of those guys."

"We told you to burn 'em." Dixon said.

"We've tried." Oscar explained. "Whenever we drag a body out, those... _things_ line up against the fence. We torch the body and run inside as fast as possible."

Rick motioned for the group to gather. He saw me and waved me over. I opened the gate and trotted over.

"What do you think?" Rick asked as soon as I made it over there.

"I think they're nice enough." I replied. Rick stared at me. He was probably questioning my judgment. I shrugged. "I do, though."

"When I was on the force there was this case." Rick stated. "The kid cried and won the jury over. He was being convicted of killing his girlfriend. He was released and two weeks later he shot another girl."

"And sometimes there are good people in prisons and bad people in the world." I replied.

"Okay, maybe we should send them out." Glenn suggested. "Give them some food and let them fend for themselves."

"That'd be like killing them ourselves." T-Dog piped up. I had a flashback right then. Dale would have sided with T-Dog. I know it. And when I looked at T-Dog, I knew he was thinking the same thing I was.

"I'm with T." T-Dog nodded at me in thanks.

"Look, I grew up guys like them. They did bad stuff, but they weren't psychos. I could have just as easily turned out like them." Dixon looked at me pointedly. I smirked.

"So you're with me and Mel." T-Dog said.

"Hell no. Let them fend for themselves." Dixon exclaimed.

"Psycho." I murmured, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

"They're strangers." Maggie added. "I just don't feel comfortable."

"We were strangers." Glenn pointed out. "You didn't turn us away."

"You were running up with a shot boy in your arms. You didn't give us much choice."

"And what about me?" I asked. "I was a stranger raving about how I was sucked into a TV show, you let me stick around."

"That's actually a good point." Carol interjected. "But I'm still not sure about those two. They're convicts."

"They seem okay to me." I protested again. "And they aren't stark raving lunatics like you probably thought I was. I just don't think it's fair that we're judging them solely on the fact that they were in prison. We don't even know why they were in there in the first place."

"It doesn't matter why they were locked up." Rick stated. "They were in prison."

"All I'm saying is, if they were murderers or rapists, they would have done it by now." I held up my hands. "But you're the captain, it's your decision through and through." Rick studied me. I guess he couldn't tell if I was being sarcastic or something. Which, to be honest, it was always a good idea to assume I'm being sarcastic or something.

Rick nodded and turned to Glenn. "We'll give them a week's worth of food." They started hashing out the specifics and after a few minutes Glenn and T-Dog ran inside to fetch Axel and Oscar food. Dixon locked Axel and Oscar in one of the walkway sections with the food Glenn brought back. I felt bad for them. They didn't look like mean guys.

"Would you rather have their blood on your hands or Maggie's? Glenn's?" Rick asked T-Dog and I. "Or Beth's" Rick turned to me at that point.

"Neither." T-Dog replied.

"I second that motion." I could tell that wasn't the answer Rick wanted, but that was the only answer he was going to get. I walked back up toward the prison and let everyone else handle the cars and whatever. I wanted to check in on Hershel. As I was making my way in to the courtyard, I saw Lori helping Hershel down the stairs from C-Block with Beth and Carl in tow. Lori was in front of Hershel walking backward making sure he didn't fall forward.

"Way to go, Hershel." I said walking up to him. He nodded at me.

"So what do you say, Hershel, you ready to race?" Carl asked.

"Give me another day. Then I'll be ready." Hershel replied. Beth chuckled and I smiled. We were facing the other side of the yard and Rick, Glenn, and Dixon were watching from the walkway. Carol and T-Dog were on the other side of the courtyard we were standing in, and Maggie was somewhere in between us.

For a moment, everything was sort of perfect. The sky was clear blue, not a single cloud to be seen. It wasn't too hot or humid. Everyone was alive.

Then I heard the sounds. The walker sounds. The same sounds I'd heard at Hershel's farm when that horde over took it. The same sounds I'd been hearing almost everyday for months.

I turned around and there were walkers everywhere.

 **Author's Note: I like this chapter better than the last one. Less boring. I'm sure I could have made it a little longer but it's 1:30 a.m. and I need to go to work later. Reviews are encouraged. I read them and I hear you. I like to hear what you have to say and how you feel about different parts and it helps inspire me for different things. Thank you and good night.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: This chapter is extremely short and I'm sorry. I had a long day and need to go to sleep, but I wanted to post another chapter and this one just sort of flowed out of me, even though it's pretty short. Plus, I think I hit a pretty good stopping point there at the end. Thank you for all your supportive reviews and I'll try to post another, longer chapter here soon.**

I heard Rick yell from behind me and I knew he saw them, too.

"Move!" I yelled. I pulled out my gun and so did Lori and Carl. We shot at walkers and I covered Beth and Hershel as they escaped to the other side of the courtyard where there was a caged off entrance to another building. I pushed Carl toward C-Block and grabbed Lori's arm. Maggie was there in seconds and the four of us escaped into the cell block.

I looked back just in time to see T-Dog get bit.

"Shit." I said, and ran after Maggie, Lori, and Carl. As soon as we were inside the caged off waiting center, walkers poured out of the cell block itself. Maggie grabbed Lori and pulled her through one of the doors that lead deeper into the prison. I pushed Carl in front of me again and followed Maggie and Lori. The walkers followed us and soon enough there were walkers in some of the hallways in front of us. Carl scouted out a sort of boiler room and the four of us hid inside.

Then Lori went into labor.

"We have to get her back to the cell block, we have to get Hershel..." Carl started.

"We can't do that, not with all those walkers out there." Maggie replied.

"Your mom's gonna have to have the baby here, Carl." I said. Maggie was panicked, Lori was in labor, Carl was bugging, and I was... all over the place. Maggie set to work doing the little she new how to do; the little Hershel had told her about.

"Carl." I said. I walked over to the boy and took his face in my hands. "It's going to be okay, don't worry, everything is going to be fine." I looked him in the eye, hoping he believed me as much as I was hoping he would.

"Lori stop somethings wrong." Maggie practically yelled. Lori was trying to push, she was standing and holding onto some pipes on the wall. Maggie was ready to catch the baby, but when Maggie pulled her hands away, they were covered in blood. "I don' think you're fully dilated yet. Lie down." Lori did as she was bid and laid down on the ground.

"I have to check if you're fully dilated." Maggie stated. She bent her head and lifted it again. "I can't tell."

"I know what's happening." Lori was out of breath, obviously, but she sounded surprisingly calm. "Maggie, Carl was a c-section, this baby has to be a c-section, too. I won' t let my baby die."

"Lori..." Maggie looked horrified.

"Maggie, you have to do this, for me, for the baby... and when I... it can't be Rick. Promise me it won't be Rick." Lori looked desperate.

"I... I don't have anything..." Maggie spluttered.

"Carl has a knife." Lori replied.

"I don't know how..."

"You have to try, Maggie, you have to." Lori turned to Carl. Carl was kneeling on Lori's right while I was kneeling on Lori's left. "Carl, you can beat this world, I know you can. You are strong, and kind, and so incredibly brave. Don't let this world change you, Carl." Lori turned to me. "Watch him. Take care of him. I know you have been, I've seen you, and I need you to do the same with this baby. Please, Mel." I nodded and Lori turned back to Carl. He was silently weeping. Lori wiped tears from her own eyes. "Carl..." She choked.

Carl lunged forward to hug his mother one last time.

Lori told her son that she loved him one last time.

Then she told Maggie she was ready.

Maggie cut Lori's abdomen open.

Simultaneously, there was one more person and one less person in the world.


	24. Chapter 24

Maggie held the baby girl in her arms. She was beautiful. She really was. Carl handed Maggie his jacket and allowed himself a small smile. Maggie got up to leave but Carl stopped her.

"Wait. What about mom?" He asked, looking back down at his mother. Maggie opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

"Carl, let me." I said weakly. I didn't want to. I didn't want to stab or shoot Lori in the head, I really didn't, but the only thing I didn't want to do more than kill Lori, was let Carl do it.

"No, she's my mom." Carl replied.

"Carl, no." I said a bit more firmly. I had never liked Lori. She was a shit mother and I wasn't the only person who knew it, but at the end there... the things she said to Carl and me. She pulled herself together long enough to mother properly, probably for the first time in her life. And the way she didn't think twice about Maggie having to give her a c-section to save the baby... I'm not sure I could have been able to do the same thing, especially with my son watching.

"No." Carl said again.

"Carl-" I started, but before I could finish, Carl stood up, pulled out his gun, and shot Lori in the head. Maggie had't seen Carl, thank God, she had been checking the hallway for walkers. Carl's face was carved in stone. He walked out of the boiler room. I stood up and followed him, letting Maggie go first with the baby. Carl was waiting for us in the hallway. I pulled out my gun and held it ahead of my like Carl was. We made our way back up to the cell block then back out into the courtyard.

And outside, it was still a nice day. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky. It wasn't too hot and humid. And yet so much had changed.

Rick, Glenn, Dixon, Hershel, Beth, Oscar, and Axel were standing in the courtyard. I wasn't sure if they knew about T-Dog, and I didn't see Carol who had escaped with him deeper into the prison.

That's when the baby started crying.

For a second, everyone was frozen, then they slowly turned to look at me, Carl, and Maggie.

"Wh-where-where's Lori?" Rick asked. He glanced at the baby, but mostly kept his eyes on me and Maggie. "Where's Lo-" Rick stopped and a look of understanding crossed his face as he finally interpreted our silence.

"Rick..." Maggie tried to grab him as he walked past her toward the cell block. He bent over to look at Carl whose eyes were trained on the ground and misty. Then Rick began to wail. He crashed to the ground and fell apart.

"Let me see the baby." Hershel demanded. Maggie handed the baby to Carl and he walked over to the old man. "She looks healthy enough, but she's going to need formula or she won't make it.

"Nope, we ain't losin' anyone else. Do we have anything for a baby to eat?" Dixon asked. He was antsy and moving around the courtyard.

"We barely have anything for adults to eat, Dixon, what the fuck makes you think we have stuff for a baby?" I asked sharply. I was a little on edge after everything that had happened. I mean, I had just watched an impromptu c-section and an eleven year old boy shoot his mother. Dixon looked at me and I was sure he was going to make a comment, but he didn't, he just turned away.

"We gotta make a run then." Dixon said. He turned to Axel and Oscar. "Watch the fence, if too many of them get bunched together we're gonna have a problem." Axel and Oscar nodded. Dixon murmured something to Beth and she nodded in response, then he turned away and headed toward his bike.

I wanted to ask if I could go, but after what I had just said to him I was pretty positive that he didn't want me anywhere near him. To be honest, I sort of felt bad for saying it, I never said things like that, not ever or for any reason.

I ran after him anyway and said, "I wanna come." He gave me a look again, but didn't say anything.

Glenn came up behind us and said, "I'm going, too. There's a store a little ways out that may have baby stuff."

"No, that place was cleared out, Lori had me scout out some places just in case." Maggie said.

"I saw signs for another sort of store down by the highway." Glenn suggested.

"The roads around there are too crowed, there's no way the car can fit through that." Maggie informed.

"I can take one of you." Dixon said, getting on his bike.

"I'm gonna stay here and watch Carl." Maggie said.

"I better stay here and watch Rick." Glenn added. Dixon glared at Glenn and Maggie. He really didn't lie the idea of me going with him, but we had made a rule early on that no one went on runs alone. I took a bag from one of the cars and climbed onto the back of Dixon's bike.

* * *

The store Maggie and Glenn had hinted at was picked clean, but I found a flyer advertising a daycare. Dixon and I headed toward it and found it in no time. Dixon watched the outside as I broke a window to gain access into the building. We hadn't spoken to each other at all the whole time.

I climbed in through the window and Dixon followed. I saw cribs on one side of the room and construction paper hands all over the wall on the other side. Dixon and I had the same idea and we stood for a few moments studying the hands.

"I hope they got out." I stated. I knew it was a foolish dream to think that four year olds managed to survive the end of days, but I hoped anyway. I started rummaging through cabinets and changing tables but couldn't find anything. Dixon and I headed deeper into the building and I rummaged through everything that could be rummaged through. There was nothing.

Then we heard noises in one of the rooms. We crept along the hallway and I pulled out my knife. Dixon had his cross bow up and ready to shoot. The noises were coming from inside a closet. I opened the doors and a possum greeted us with hissing. Dixon shot it right in the eye.

"Hello dinner." He said triumphantly.

"I'm not putting that in my bag." I said. Dixon stepped forward to take the possum and I turned away. I knelt down and opened a cabinet under a counter. Jackpot. I found bottles and diapers and loaded up my bag. I rummaged some more but couldn't find any formula. I stood up and reached for cabinets that may hold formula, but paused.

"Hey, Dixon." I said. I turned to look at him. "I'm sorry for what I said at the prison. It was rude and snarky and it wasn't fair to you. You just want to save the baby. That's good. That's really good, Dixon, and I'm not trying to be patronizing. I mean it." Dixon huffed air out if his nose, but it wasn't the usual huff. The other huff was a frustrated huff, when I said something I knew got under his skin in the best way. This huff was... different, but I didn't know how it was different.

I felt better after apologizing. I was usually joking when I said things like that. I said things like that sarcastically or while I'm laughing, but that time I didn't do either of those things. I was just flat out rude. I thought about the other things I had said to Dixon over the last few months, but none of them I had meant in a mean spirited way, it was just funny to get a reaction. I didn't actually want to hurt his feelings.

I turned back to the cabinets and opened one. "Yesssss!" I said. Formula. Two cans of formula. The baby was going to need more than two cans, but for now, two cans was more than enough. I grabbed them and put them into my bag. After looking through all the rooms just one more time, just in case, and finding nothing, Dixon and I headed back to the prison.


	25. Chapter 25

When we got back to the prison, the sun had already set and it was almost pitch black dark, the moon the only illumination. Driving up to the gate, I saw Axel and Oscar standing, ready to open it up.

"Hey!" Dixon called out. Axel ran down the fence with a shovel making as much noise as he could to draw the walkers away. I heard a gun shot and looked around. I hand't notice Glenn in the guard tower covering us. He had taken out a walker behind us. Oscar pulled the gate open and Dixon maneuvered his bike into the courtyard.

I didn't even wait for him to stop. I jumped off the bike and stumbled a little from the sudden stop of motion and ran into the cell block. The first thing I heard was the little baby girl crying. My heart twisted in my chest and I hurried to mix the formula. Dixon came it right after me and took the baby from Carl. He gently jolted her in an effort to comfort her. I shook the baby bottle and handed it over to the redneck. He expertly gave the bottle to the baby and she stopped crying.

"You like that?" He said in classic baby voice. "You like that Little Ass Kicker?" He looked around at us and we all chuckled a little. "Yeah? Little Ass Kicker?" I sat down on one of the picnic tables and pulled Carl down onto my lap, sitting my head on his shoulder.

"We are _not_ calling her that." I said, smiling. "Maybe that can be her nickname, but that's not going to be her name."

"I was thinking it could be Sophia." Carl said. "Then there's Amy, Andrea, Patricia, Jackie, and Carol." He paused and looked at the baby in Dixon's arm. Then he said, almost like an after thought, "Lori."

"Not Jackie." I protested. "I'm sorry, but every time I hear that name I think of _Jack and the Beanstalk_ and I hated that story when I was little."

Carl laughed a little. "Why?"

"The giants. They scared me. I didn't let my mom plant beans in the window planters because of it. I didn't want a huge-o beanstalk to grow up into the sky and let loose a wave of giants onto the Earth."

Carl laughed again. "That's so stupid."

"Shut up, I was four. I was also scared of the dark and clown fish."

"Clown fish?" Glenn asked.

"That movie scarred me!" I defended myself. "Anyway, I think I like Amy the best. Or maybe Sophie instead of Sophia?" Carl nodded and the sheriff's hat hit me in the head. We all watched Dixon feed the baby until she finished eating, then I took the baby and burped her over my shoulder, the same way I had burped Jackson and Cody when they were born. Then Beth took her and made a sort of crib out of a plastic basket and put blankets on the bottom.

Everyone else went to sleep except me. I wandered the halls with a flashlight, killing any and all walkers I ran into. It was easier in the dark to learn the differences between walkers and people. Before the prison, I would lie awake and listen for the unmistakable sounds of walkers. It didn't take too long for me to be able to discern just how many walkers were around just by the sound of their walking, well, shambling.

Two around the corner. Three down the hall. All five ended up dead. I knew it wasn't a good idea to wander around in the dark by myself, but I couldn't sleep. I hadn't tried, but I knew I wasn't going to manage it, and I was going to waste time lying on my bunk, staring up at the ceiling.

Before day break the next day, I headed back to the cell block. My total walker body count was only about seven, but that was seven less walkers Dixon, Oscar, and Carl were going to have to take out later that day. Rick had found the room where Lori had died and hadn't actually left it. He came up for air once, to check on everyone, see ask if the fence was okay. Once he got the report, he headed back down.

"Rick." Hershel started, but Rick kept walking. "I'll go talk with him." Beth and I helped Hershel up and made sure he was steady before we let him walk away. Beth had made a sort of breakfast and afterward, Dixon, Carl, and Oscar headed out deep into the tunnel. Axel was down in the generator room trying to fix it in case of emergency. Maggie and Glenn opted to go on a run for more formula.

"We don't have a lot, and we're going to need more. A lot more." Glenn explained.

"Get some toys, too." I suggested. "She's going to need them." Glenn nodded and he and Maggie took off. That just left me, Beth, and Little Ass Kicker. I couldn't lie, it was a kind of adorable nickname. Beth held her on one side of the table while I sat on the other, playing Solitaire.

"You didn't sleep last night?" Beth commented.

"You spying on me now?" I asked, smiling a little.

"No, I just didn't see you go up there last night."

"I didn't go to sleep, you're right. I wandered the halls."

Beth looked at me. "That's not safe. There's a wall down. You could have been killed."

"I'm fine, though. I can tell how many walkers are around. It's one of my many talents, like winning Egyptian Rat and burping the Star Spangled Banner."

Beth chuckled and put the baby in her make-shift crib. "Let's play, then." The baby napped as Beth and I played a few rounds of Egyptian Rat. Carl, Oscar, and Dixon returned not too long later and Carl asked if he could hold the baby.

"Of course!" Beth said. "She's your sister." Carl smiled and picked up the baby.

"I think she's hungry." Carl observed. Beth put down her cards and made a bottle. Carl sat down and fed the baby just as Hershel came back.

"How's..." Dixon started, but Hershel shook his head. He sat down, and didn't offer up any more information about Rick.

"Where's Glenn and Maggie?" Hershel asked.

"They went on a run for more formula." I supplied. "And maybe some toys." Hershel nodded and watched Carl feed the baby. Beth and I finished our current round of Egyptian Rat and I, of course, won. For the thirty-something time.

Beth sighed and I laughed. "I'm going to go wander again." I told her.

"You should sleep." Beth protested.

"Nah, I'll be fine." I replied. Beth shook her head, but let me go.

"You didn't sleep?" Hershel asked me.

"No, but I'll be fine."

"You haven't slept in almost two days." Hershel warned.

"And I'll sleep when I'm dead." I replied a little sharply. "I can't do it most nights, and I'll only believe Carol's dead if I see her body or she's a walker." I turned and walked out of the cell block. I wasn't the nicest person when I was tired, I was just scared that if I went to sleep, I'd see Lori again. I'd see what Maggie had to do and what Carl hand to do and I'd remember how helpless I felt, sitting by and unable to do anything. I was afraid I'd see what was left of T-Dog, even though I didn't actually see it because Glenn had already buried him. I was afraid I'd see Carol like Sophia, a dead eyed walker starving for human flesh.

I was afraid I'd see walkers attacking me, trying to eat my face off.

After a couple of minutes, I noticed someone following me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Dixon.

"What do you want, Dixon?" I asked, keeping my eyes forward.

"Hershel asked that I follow you." He replied. "Make sure you don't pass out or nothin'." I sighed but didn't say anything. I guess Hershel was right, I could pass out at some point if I don't get some sleep here soon.

We wandered around the prison for about an hour, and Dixon pointed out the part where they had stopped.

"What's in there?" I asked. The door to another room was opening a couple of inches and then closing, almost like wind was blowing through it.

"Probably a walker." Dixon said, he continued walking down the hallway. "This is where I found the walker with Carol's knife in his throat." I glanced up, then proceeded to move the walker away from the front of the door.

"What're you doin'?" Dixon exclaimed. I pulled out my knife.

"I told you, I won't believe Carol's dead until I see it. I have to check everywhere." I opened the door, and there was Carol, sitting on the floor on the edge of unconsciousness.

She looked up at me, and smiled.

 **Author's Note: I'm sorry for not posting yesterday, I had to meet with my adviser to register for next semester. I love reviews and I love reading them, so keep telling me what you think!**


	26. Chapter 26

"Carol!" I cried. I dropped to my knees and hugged the crap out of the woman. "You're alive!" Dixon was behind me in seconds. I stood up to let him pass. He picked Carol up and the three of us headed back to the cell block.

"Now you can take a nap." Dixon murmured to me. I glared at him.

"I never said I was going to take a nap after we found Carol, I said I was going to sleep when I was dead." I replied. "I just wanted to be sure she was dead. And she wasn't, thank God." I looked at the woman in Dixon's arms. Her head rested on his shoulder and she didn't stir at all. I said it once and I'll say it again, the poor woman. I bet she saw T-Dog die.

I held the barred door open for Dixon and Carol. He walked straight for Carol's cell and put her down. I was on one side of her while Dixon was on the other, making sure Carol was steady and could stand up without falling down. She sat on the bottom bunk and Dixon waved at me.

"Go get Hershel and Rick and everybody." He said. I nodded and headed out into the waiting area.

The first thing I noticed was the strange woman laying on the floor.

"Who's that?" I asked, Carol temporarily forgotten.

"We're not sure." Rick told me. He turned around to look at me. "But she had this." Rick gestured to a grocery basket filled with baby formula. "She said she saw Glenn and Maggie and that they had been kidnapped and taken to community. An abandoned city, she said."

I nodded then remembered Carol. "Oh! Dixon and I, we found Carol!" I said excitedly. "C'mon! Come see her!" Everyone walked quickly back into the cell block, Rick practically ran.

Carol smiled up at him, stood up a little shakily, and hugged the man. Rick hugged back, and when Carol pulled away, her eyes were misty. She smiled around at everyone, then her eyes fell onto Beth. She was holding the baby.

Carol smiled and touched the baby's head. Then she noticed something was off. "Lori..." She trailed off after seeing Rick's face fall. "Oh. Oh, I am so... oh, Rick." Carol hugged him again, but this time he didn't reciprocate. He gently moved her arms away and walked back out to where the woman was laying unconscious.

Hershel checked up on Carol. She was dehydrated, but other than that she was going to be fine. I gave her some water and sat with her for a while. Not long afterward, Rick came to stand in the door of the cell.

"Hey, Mel, could I take to you a minute?" He asked. I stood up and followed him out into the secondary waiting area, the one that was open to cells and wasn't separated by a barred door.

"Daryl, Oscar, Michonne, and I are going to go to this other community, Woodbury, to find Glenn and Maggie. Hershel's holding down the fort, nothing happens without his say-so. I need you to watch Carl. I know you have been, but I'm a little worried about him, so if you could just-"

"Don't worry." I interrupted. I really didn't need to listen to him blabber on about how I wasn't going on the run to get Glenn and Maggie. "I'll watch Carl. And the baby, too. Speaking of which, have you figured out a name for her? I don't want to keep calling her Little Ass Kicker, even though it's kind of cute, but only for a nickname."

"I was actually just outside with Carl. He suggested we name her Judith after one of his teachers."

"Judith it is. Though don't get offended if I call her Jude or Judy, K?"

Rick chuckled. "Jude and Judy are better than Little Ass Kicker." I smiled. Damn straight it was. I followed Rick out into the courtyard. I watched as they took the green Hondai to get Glenn and Maggie back. Axel and Carl were down by the gate. They opened it for them and closed it for them and, when I couldn't see the dust from the tires anymore, I went back inside to take a nap.

"Where are you going?" Carol asked me as I headed toward the stairs.

"I'm going to take a nap." I replied.

"I thought you were going to sleep when you were dead."

I smiled. She had been listening. "Then I guess I'm dead." I replied. I practically ran up the stairs and collapsed onto the bottom bunk. It only took a few minutes to slip restlessly into sleep.

 **Author's Note: This is another pretty short chapter. I should really start posting during the day, it's almost 1:30 a.m. right now. Anyway, thank you for the encouraging reviews, they really do make me smile. This chapter isn't very exciting and nothing really happens, and it's pretty short, but here it is. The next chapter will be longer, but it might have to wait a few days because it's Christmas. So, Merry Christmas!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note: Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday!**

The screaming woke me from my slumber. I had been having a nightmare, one of those nightmares that you knew you were in but you couldn't wake yourself up no matter how hard you tried. As soon as I opened my eyes, the nightmare disappeared and I couldn't remember a single detail except the fear.

The screaming kept coming and I leapt up from my bunk and sprung down the stairs to the main floor. Axel, Carol, Beth, Hershel and baby Judith were down on the first floor, but Carl was no where to be seen.

"Where's Carl?" I asked.

"I don't know." Beth replied, her eyes wide. I ran back up the stairs, grabbed my gun, then ran into the tunnels. He was probably looking for the source of the screaming. Halfway down one tunnel, I found Carl heading back to the cell block... and he wasn't alone.

"Carl." I growled. "What the hell are you doing?" I looked at the people he was leading then back down at him.

"I was making my rounds and..."

"You're rounds?" I interrupted. "You don't have _rounds_ you're eleven. No one knew where you were."

"I was going to ask you to come with me, but Hershel said to let you sleep."

"Next time, don't listen to Hershel. Wake me up. You could die down here."

"We're going to die down here now if you don't move." Carl's look was challenging. I glared, but lead the way back up to the cell block. We were in the holding area. Carl had lead two men, a boy about my age, and two women through the tunnels. One man was carrying woman on his shoulder.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked.

"She was bit." The man said. He was African American and so was one of the women. The other three were white. The man put the woman down on the ground and I got a look at her wound. She had been bitten on the shoulder.

"There's nothing you can do for her." I stated. "Except, of course, putting her out of her misery." The other man looked at me in horror. My eyes softened. "Was she your wife?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm sorry this happened to you." I looked down at the woman. She looked unconsciousness, and chances were she wasn't going to wake up. Carl stepped forward but the other woman stepped forward and met him halfway.

"We take care of our own." She said. Carl nodded and silently walked into the cell block. I slowly followed him. I truly felt bad for that man, losing his wife like that. And the boy must be their son. I sighed and stepped into the cell block. Carl closed and locked the door.

"Just in case." I explained. The big man was staring incredulously at us. "We don't know you." Then I turned to look for Beth. I felt it was about time she learned the words to _Danny Boy_.

"Hey." I said nudging her foot. She was sitting on her bunk writing in a notebook. "Where's Judy?"

"She's with Carol." Beth replied, closing the notebook. "What's up, who's out there?"

"There's definitely a wall down." I explained. "They got in through it. One of them was bit. They said they'd take care of it but... anyway, Carl locked them in the holding area and I decided you need to learn _Danny Boy_." Beth smiled and I sat down next to her and taught her the words to a classic Irish folk song my grandmother had taught me when I was five.

* * *

Carol and Beth made breakfast the next morning and I used that time to get to know the new comers. Tyrese was the big man, Sasha was the other woman. The woman who had gotten bit was named Donna and she had been married to Alan and Ben was their son. I sat down next to Sasha and started up a conversation.

"Where are you from?" I asked.

"Jacksonville." Sasha replied. "Our neighbor was a survival nut. We hid out in this bunker under his shed until we ran out of supplies. Alan, Ben, and Donna were the first people we met. There used to be more of us." Sasha's face fell and the look in her eyes was sad.

"There used to be more of us, too." I sighed, looking back at Carl. Beth walked in with the baby to make a bottle.

"A baby." Tyrese said. "I never thought I'd see another baby." Sasha stood up and shadowed Beth to get a closer look at Judith.

"She's beautiful. How old is she?" Sasha asked.

"Almost a week." Hershel supplied. He had been stitching up Alan's leg.

"And how are you feeling." Sasha asked Beth.

Beth looked at her, then Sasha's meaning dawned on her. "Oh, she's not mine."

"Oh, sorry, then where's her mother?" Sasha asked. Beth walked back into the cell block. Neither Hershel nor Carl supplied an answer, so I did.

"She didn't make it through the birth."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Tyrese said sincerely. I nodded and glanced at Carl. His eyes were fixed on the ground.

"You can bury Donna outside later." I said. "I'll find you some tools."

"Thank you." Tyrese said.

"One thing I have to warn you about." Hershel said standing up. "We're a tight knit group. The others, the ones who aren't here now... well, I wouldn't get comfortable."

"We wouldn't be any trouble." Sasha protested.

"It's not up to me." Hershel replied and walked into the cell block.

"It's okay." I told them. "I like you, you seem like good people. I'll do what I can." Tyrese and Sasha nodded and I glanced at Alan and Ben. Sasha and Tyrese seemed like good people. I was on the fence about Alan and Ben, but if I wanted Sasha and Tyrese to stay, Alan and Ben would have to stay, too.

* * *

*Maggie's P.O.V.*

We made it out. We made it out of Woodbury alive. Glenn was alive, Rick was alive, Daryl was alive. We lost Oscar. We got Daryl's brother. It had been a strange and hectic day, but we were alive.

The sun was shinning and most of us were alive, but I could still felt that man's eyes all over me. He hadn't really touched me, not in any real way, but it was like he was still there. And Daryl's brother, Merle. I didn't like him. I would actually go so far as to say I hated him. He had hurt Glenn. But he was Daryl's brother.

When Glenn saw that Merle was still with us, he wasn't happy.

"What is he doing here?" Glenn exclaimed holding up his gun. The woman, Rick said her name was Michonne, held up her sword and pointed it.

"Glenn, put your gun down. And you, put your sword down." Rick said, holding up his own gun. I had my gun pointed at Merle, same as Glenn. Merle kept making crude comments and I mostly tried to ignore him, but one comment about Andrea caught my attention and made me put my gun down.

"She was in Woodbury?" Glenn asked.

"Right next to the Governor." Daryl said.

"Your little samurai friend new Andrea. Cozied up to her all winter long." Merle was saying. "Had walkers on chains, no jaws or arms. That'll explain some stuff, won't it?" Merle laughed at his own joke and I had the sudden urge to slap him. I really did hate Merle Dixon.

"Merle, shut up!" Daryl hissed at his brother. Merle was starting to say something else when Rick hit him over the head and knocked him out cold.

Glenn, Rick, Daryl, and I walked away from the car where Michonne was leaning against to talk in private.

"He can't come back with us." Glenn said absolutely.

"He's my brother, my blood." Daryl replied.

"My blood, my family, is right here and back at the prison." Glenn replied. "This is your family, too. You're going to throw it all away for _Merle_?" Daryl gave Glenn a look.

"Daryl, he can't come back with us. It'll stir things up." Rick chipped in.

"So we're going to leave Merle and bring back that bitch?" Daryl said exasperated.

"She's not coming with us." Rick protested.

"She's in no condition to be on her own." I piped up. It was pretty obvious just looking at her. "My dad at least needs to stitch her up."

"Uh-uh. Nope. I ain't leavin' Merle again." Daryl said. One thing I know about Daryl Dixon is that when he makes up his mind about something, he wasn't changing it. Daryl was going to go off alone with his brother.

"What are we gonna tell the others?" I asked. "Carol, Beth? Mel?" Especially Mel. There was something there with the two of them, and I know I'm not the only one whose seen it because Beth has mentioned it to me a few times. Though, it makes me wonder if Daryl and Mel see it, too, or if they're blind to it.

"They'll understand." Daryl said. He headed off toward the car and Rick followed. Carol and Beth and Carl might understand, but I'm not sure Mel will. I sighed and turned to walk toward the car. I felt Glenn watching me, making sure I was okay. I bet he was going to want to talk about what happened, but I didn't want to talk about it. I wanted to forget about it.

Daryl walked off into the woods with his brother, Rick warned Michonne about leaving after being patched up, I climbed into the back of the car with Glenn, and then we were headed... home? Can I call the prison that now, or was it too soon? I decided it didn't matter. Prison. Home. Farmhouse. It didn't matter where we were, as long as I had Glenn, Beth, Daddy, Rick, Carl, and everyone else, I was home.


	28. Chapter 28

I had been taking a walk when I saw the Hondai drive up to the gate. I ran down to Carl and Carol who had been on guard duty and helped them open the gate. Rick drove the car inside and then hopped out. Maggie, Glenn, and the woman, whose name was Michonne apparently, climbed out of the car. Rick killed the ignition and followed their lead.

I hugged Glenn so hard Maggie had to wrench me off of him because she was afraid I was going to suffocate him.

Then I turned and hugged Maggie the same way until Carl had to wrench me off of Maggie because he thought I was going to suffocate her.

Before I even got the chance to hug Rick, Maggie said, "Daryl's gone. I mean, he's not dead, but he left with his brother who was at Woodbury." Maggie studied my expression carefully. I didn't want to care that Dixon was gone, but I did. I mean, not in any special way, more like a snow globe that had always been sitting on the top shelf and was suddenly gone one day.

"I can't blame him." I said. "I wouldn't have been able to do what he did, though. At least, I don't _think_ I would. But Dixon's a grown ass man, he can do what he wants, and if his choices come back to bite him in the ass, it's not our problem. He made his choice, and it wasn't us." I shrugged. Maggie was giving me look like she didn't believe how nonchalant I was being about Dixon leaving. It probably seemed cold hearted to the others, but it was the truth. He was a grown ass man, and if he wanted to go gallivanting through the woods with his fuck tard of a brother, I remembered him from season one, then why should I care? The problem was, I did care. Who was I kidding. I missed him more than some antique snow globe on a shelf for the simple reason that he wasn't a snow globe at all.

I led the way back up to the prison. No one had told Rick about the newcomers yet, Hershel wanted to be the one to tell him.

"Where's Daryl?" Hershel asked me.

"Gone, but not dead." I replied, then added more like an afterthought, "Yet."

"He can take care of himself." Hershel assured me.

"Sure he can, but I don't think Dixon can take care of himself and his brother at the same time." Hershel looked at me curiously. I quickly explained the circumstances under which Dixon left, then headed into the prison. Rick completely ignored the newcomers and went straight for Judith. I was sitting alone in my cell waiting for the moment when we would decide whether or not the newcomers were going to stay.

It took Rick almost all day to finally talk to them. It gave Hershel enough time to look Glenn, Maggie, and Michonne over. Michonne was the name of the woman who had seen Glenn and Maggie get kidnapped by Merle. She had always been out cold when I had seen her, so I hand't had the chance to talk to her.

I also had a chance to chat with Carol while I held Judith and she fixed her make-shift crib.

"Sophia always woke the neighbors up at 3 in the morning like clockwork." Carol told me. "Ed would sleep at a friend's house until she calmed down."

"My baby brother Cole, the only way we could get him to stop crying was if I was in the room." I smiled at the memories. "After we realized that I was the reason he stopped crying, my parents put his crib in my room and we shared a room from then on. He'd be six now, I bet." Carol looked at me with soft eyes.

"Would you have done what Daryl did? If you had to choose between your family and us?" Carol asked me.

"Would you go with Ed if he walked in here and asked you to?" I replied.

"I'd like to think I wouldn't." Carol admitted.

"I want to say so would I, but truth be told, I'm happy I don't have to make that decision and that it was technically made for me." I looked down at Judith. "This is my family, too. I understand Dixon's choice to leave with Merle, but I hope it was at least a difficult one. At leas then I'd know he actually cared about us."

"He cared. He wouldn't have tried so hard to keep Judith alive if he hadn't."

I nodded and Carol reached out for the baby. I put her in the woman's arms and Carol put her in the crib.

"You cozy in there?" Carol asked in baby speak. I smiled.

Someone had written Little Ass Kicker on the side with marker.

* * *

"No." Rick said flat out. He had started out by asking how the newcomers had gotten into the prison. Tyrese explained how a wall was down and they had lost Donna on their way in.

"Please." Sasha said.

"Rick, they seem like good people." I defended. Rick gave me a death glare. He didn't trust people much anymore.

"No." Rick stated again. "We gave Thomas and the others a chance and look what happened." Rick shook his head.

"Oscar and Axel weren't so bad." I shot back.

"No." Rick seemed to really like that word today. I sighed heavily as Hershel pulled Rick aside to talk to him. I looked at Tyrese and Sasha. I didn't want to kick them out. We needed them. According to Glenn, it was possible that the Governor was going to retaliate and we didn't have the muscle to defend ourselves.

I looked back at Rick. It looked like Hershel had gotten through to him. He was just about to say yes when he looked up at a landing and saw something. I looked where he was looking and saw nothing.

Then Rick went crazy. Like totally bat shit.

"Get out!" He screamed at Tyrese, Sasha, Ben, and Alan. "Get out now!" Then Rick started wandering about the holding area muttering, "What do you want? Why are you here?" as he looked up at the landing. Glenn ushered the others out of the holding area and out into the courtyard while the rest of us looked at Rick like he had lost his marbles, because he totally had.

Out of reflex, I had grabbed Carl and held him close while his father was screaming. Carl's thin arms wrapped around my waist.

"Rick, get your shit together." I spat at him. Rick looked at me, but he wasn't seeing me. He wasn't seeing anyone. Then he walked away.


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note: Happy New Year everyone!**

The next day was bright and beautiful, and I decided to take a walk. I had no idea exactly what had happened in Woodbury, but Maggie and Glenn weren't the same when they came back. Maggie mostly wandered about alone, sort of like me. Glenn was on the warpath, revenge ironed onto every feature of his face. Then there was Rick. He really was bat shit crazy. I watched him chase down an invisible figure who had been standing by the graves, then he chased it out beyond the fence. Michonne had taken up residence in the bus by the entrance and was watching Rick, too.

I watched Glenn climb into the silver pick up truck we had and drive away. Hershel was hobbling his way down to me, but I decided to meet him halfway.

"Where's Glenn going?" I asked.

"He wants to see where exactly the breach is." Hershel replied. I nodded then the two of us spent the next few minutes staring out into the woods.

"Where's Rick?" Hershel finally asked. I pointed out toward the trees and a little to the right. Hershel nodded and started making his way toward Rick.

"Do you need help?" I asked him.

"I've got it." Hershel replied. I watched him for a while longer then turned and saw Carol and Axel.

"Hey." I said. I walked over to them and stood on Carol's right. "Whatchu doin'?" I asked.

"We just finished fortifying some of the walk ways between the buildings." Carol replied. I nodded and listened to Carol and Axel's conversation, until a shot rang out, and Axel stopped talking mid-sentence. I looked over and saw him on the ground with a bullet hole in his head. Before I could process what had just happened, more shots rang out and I felt something pass my left side. I ran and hid behind a wall where Beth and Carl were hiding. Shots kept coming and I had no idea where they were all coming from. I pulled out my gun and started shooting. There were people on the other side of the outer fence and one in a guard tower.

I shot at the man in the guard tower but most of my bullets missed. Maggie came out and handed Beth a bigger gun. We popped off round after round.

Then a truck zoomed up the road and crashed through the gates of the fence. It skidded up the path and pulled in onto the grass. A person in a suit and helmet jumped out just as the back of the truck opened up and released a horde of walkers. The person ran out of the yard, shooting at Michonne, and over to the people who had started shooting at us.

They drove away. The people on the other side of the fence drove away after shooting us up and releasing walkers and didn't look back.

I glanced around the courtyard. Maggie had covered Carol and she had gotten herself to a safe place. The man in the guard tower was dead. Glenn had driven up in the silver pick up and saved Hershel, and Michonne and brought them up to us. Maggie and I closed the gate to prevent any walkers from wandering into the prison and looked out to where Rick was. He had been on the other side of fence when the people had shown up.

"Who..." I started but Glenn interrupted.

"The Governor." He glared out toward the yard and put a hand on Maggie's shoulder.

Rick made his way back up to us, and he wasn't alone. As he neared I saw that Dixon was with him. Dixon and his brother. I couldn't help the fluttering of butterflies in my stomach. Rick ran over to us to make sure that we, mostly Carl, were all safe. He looked at all of us and finally noticed Axel dead on the ground. Carol had used him as a shield.

"Everyone's okay, though?" He asked.

"I think Mel got shot." Carol said.

I looked at Carol. "No I didn't."

She gave me a look and gestured to my left side. I looked down and pulled up my shirt. Sure enough, there was a bullet wound.

"Okay, I don't want to freak anyone out, but I think I got shot." I said surprisingly calmly, holding up my hands. "If we all take deep breaths and talk about it, I'm sure I'll be fine. Lord knows how well the power of family meetings fixes everything." A smiled played on Beth's lips despite how hard she was trying not to laugh. Glenn stepped over to me and helped me walk back into the prison. Hershel hobbled as quickly as he could after us.

I sat on a table as Hershel worked his magic to clean up and stitch my wound.

"You okay?" Dixon asked me quietly.

I glared at him. "Just peachy." I had been fine with him leaving us. I have no idea how many times I had said he was a grown ass man. But now, actually seeing him, i realized that I was just saying all those understanding things because I hated him. I hated him for leaving us for his shit brother. Dixon huffed air out of his nose and walked away. It was the same huff from when we went to get formula for Judith the day she was born. The huff that wasn't the usual annoyed huff. I watched him walk away.

Rick stayed close to Merle. As soon as Hershel was done cleaning me up, Merle was going to get locked in the holding area. No one trusted him. He was a prick. And apparently he was dangerous. Just look at what he did to Glenn. And he only had one hand.

"Alright, don't strain yourself for the next few days. You should be fully healed in the next week or two. Luckily, the bullet didn't hit anything vital and it was a through and through." Hershel patted my knee. "We're lucky only one of us was injured through all that. It could have been worse."

"It was worse." I said. "Axel's dead." I patted Hershel's head. "Thanks." He smiled and I smiled back. I hopped off of the table and got light headed.

"Be careful. The bullet just passed through, but the adrenaline made your heart rate increase so you bled a lot more than if you had been shot when you were calm." Hershel carefully stood up. "You lost a lot of blood, but I don't think you need a transfusion. Just drink water and eat something. You haven't been eating much these last few days." I nodded and Carl came over and I slung my arm across his shoulders. He barely reached my shoulder, but it helped to have someone to lean on. Carl lead me to the stairs that lead up to the second floor set of cells and I sat down. Everyone piled into the cell block and Rick locked Merle into the holding area.


	30. Chapter 30

"We should have left." Glenn said. "Or attacked him first like I wanted to do. Now we lost the field, Mel got shot, and Axel's dead."

"He's right ya know." Merle interjected. "Ya'll shoulda left yesterday."

I was sitting on the stairs and Hershel was sitting just under me, closer to the ground so he could get up easier. My side was killing me, any little movement racked my body with pain. Needless to say, I had never been shot before. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, I felt the wound full force. I felt even more woozy than I had five minutes ago, and I really needed a nap.

"We can't leave." I said, a little out of breath. "Judith."

"We can't stay here." Maggie replied. "We'll starve. Plus, he'll be back."

"He's probably gatherin' an army up now." Merle added.

"Sure, he's got more people, but we're smarter." I shot back. We were. We could take the Governor and what ever he throws at us. I looked up just in time to see Rick starting to walk away, and then Hershel yelled at him.

"Stop!" Hershel struggled to a standing position. "Rick, stop! Where are you going? We need you. We need you here. Don't disappear again. You said once this wasn't a democracy anymore, I'm holding you to that. You want to be the leader? Lead. I put the lives of my family in your hands, Rick. All these people put their lives in your hands." Rick studied Hershel with his patented stare then started giving out orders. People for watch, people for staying in the prison. He stopped being bat shit and started being a leader.

Good.

I stood up, I wanted to be helpful some how, but Carol and Beth both came and stood by my side.

"You need to rest." Carol said. "You really do. I can't remember the last time you slept for more than a couple of hours, and you've been shot."

"Do you wanna stay in my cell or yours?" Beth asked me. "Mine might be easier 'cause it's right there."

I nodded and let Beth lead me to her cell while Carol followed to make sure I didn't fall. I looked up and saw Dixon watching me like a hawk, like he didn't trust Beth or Carol to catch me if I were to fall. He was watching me like he was read to catch me.

Beth helped me sit down on the bottom bunk. "I'll sleep on the top one." She told me. I wanted to protest. I wanted to tell everyone, because everyone was watching me, that I was fine, that I was okay and they didn't need to worry about me. But I was suddenly tired. I laid my head down on the thin pillow and was immediately swallowed by darkness.

* * *

I was having a nightmare and I knew it. My mom used to tell me that when you knew you were in a dream, you could wake yourself up, but I couldn't wake myself up this time. I guess I was just too tired and by body insisted that I sleep despite my horrible dream.

It was dark and shots were being fired from every direction. I was running as fast as I could, but my side was splitting and I was pretty sure I was just running in circles. Every time I saw a light, I stumbled toward it and found someone dead. Carol. Beth. Carl. Rick. Maggie. Glenn. Bullet holes in their heads, eyes glazed over and staring.

Every time I found one, I screamed until I thought my head might explode, then I would run away and find another light and another body. When I found Dixon, the ground under my feet shifted and pitched me back, sending me flying through the air. Slowly, I realized someone was waking me up. I opened my eyes and had to blink a few times to get used to the sudden light.

Dixon was leaning over the bed and looking into my face. "You okay?" He asked me. I was still pissed at him. I still hated him for leaving us. If he left once for Merle, then he'd leave again for something less, right? But I couldn't deny the real concern I saw in his blue eyes. I had never noticed the color of his eyes before.

Dixon stepped away and I sat up. "I'm fine, really." My side was killing me and I was doused in sweat.

"You were groanin' and stuff. Like you was havin' a nightmare."

I nodded. "Yeah, thanks for waking me up. It was bad." I looked at him and had a flash of my dream where he had a bullet hole in between his eyes. I shuddered and made to stand up.

"Careful. You ain't been shot before, take it easy." Dixon put a hand out but I pushed it away as gently as I could. I may be mad at him, but I didn't really want to be rude to him seeing as he actually, really cared for some odd reason.

"I'm fine." I repeated. "I'm alive, and compared to other people, I'm doing great." Dixon nodded and headed out of the cell with just the quickest glace back at me.

"Andrea's here." He shot over his shoulder.

"What?" I knew she had been in Woodbury, Maggie had told us. I left the cell as fast as my side would let me, which wasn't fast, and beat Dixon to the holding area. I hugged Andrea, happy to see her alive. I hadn't liked her much, neither before when this was all a TV show nor after when I actually met her, but I was happy she wasn't dead.

"They told me you got shot, are you okay?" Andrea pulled away.

"I'm fine, better than others." I glanced at Hershel. "I still have both my legs." Andrea smiled at my lame excuse of a joke and turned to the rest of the group.

"When did you get here?" I asked.

"Five minutes ago, about." Andrea replied. "Where's T-Dog? Lori? Shane?"

"T didn't make it." Carol piped up.

"Lori had a girl." Hershel added. But no one gave specifics, especially about Shane. God, I had almost forgotten about him. Andrea nodded, slowly recognizing that that was all she was going to get out of us on that subject.

"Rick, I'm so sorry. And Carl, God." Andrea looked down at her shoes for a minute. "The Governor told me it was you who had shot up Woodbury." Andrea glanced at Merle. "I had been meaning to come down and see you all."

"That was days ago." Glenn replied heatedly. That was the first time I noticed the tension in the room. You could have cut it with Michonne's sword it was so thick. We were all happy to see Andrea alive, but at the same time, she was in league with the Governor.

"I know, I didn't have a chance until today. They needed me at Woodbury, there are innocent people there." Andrea looked imploringly at all of us.

"You think we started this." I stated. I had great intuition when it decided to work.

"What makes you say that?" Andrea asked, but she knew that I knew.

"'There are innocent people there.'" I replied. "We didn't attack them first, they took Glenn and Maggie. Rick and them went to get them back. Then your _boyfriend_ took out the gate, filled the yard with walkers, and shot us up. Did you think _we_ started that?" It all came out harsher than I wanted it to.

"That's what Philip told me." Andrea said quietly.

"He shot Mel." Dixon said. "Axel got killed, too. He was one of us." Andrea glanced and me and I looked her in the eye.

"I'm sorry, truly, I am." Andrea replied. "But, he's massing an army, Rick." Andrea continued. "You're out manned and out gunned. Please, let me help. Let me talk to Philip, maybe you can negotiate some sort of truce."

Rick shook his head. "That won't work." And that was it. He turned to Maggie and handed her a gun, "Take watch." Maggie nodded and headed outside.

"So that's it?" Andrea asked exasperated. "You put down the 'Welcome Home' mat for Merle but treat me like a traitor? You left me."

"We thought you were dead." Carol protested. "After you saved me, I saw you go down, I thought you were gone."

"Merle has military experience and inside knowledge about the Governor." Rick stated.

Andrea glared down at the ground but let the matter drop. Everyone dispersed and I walked over the Beth who had made breakfast.

"Here, eat." She handed me a plate of food. I didn't bother asking what it was. I learned a long time ago that was one of many questions you didn't want to know the answer to.

I sat down at one of the tables and ate while Beth and Carl sat next to me playing Egyptian Rat.


	31. Chapter 31

*Daryl's P.O.V.*

"I'm going on a run tomorrow. Carl's coming, he's ready. And Michonne, I don't want to leave her here. Not with me gone or with your brother." Rick looked at me. He was holding the Little Ass Kicker. I looked over at Merle. He was still locked up in the holding area.

"I trust you, Daryl." Rick continued. "But not your brother. Whatever he does, it's on you." I nodded once. I knew that. No one liked Merle. Hell, I wasn't sure _I_ liked him much, but he was blood. He was my brother.

Slowly, everyone headed off to their respective cells to sleep. Except Mel. No one was happy about me leaving with Merle, and I got that. He was a shit. I stayed leaning against the wall for another few minutes before deciding to hit the hay myself.

Mel was slowly working her way up the stairs. I waited patiently behind her in case she fell. She mad it onto the landing and turned left, then after about a yard, turned right and headed to her cell. I turned right at the landing and sat down against the wall. Hopefully, Mel was going to get some more sleep. God knows she needs it.

I stayed awake for a while longer, thinking. Being away from Merle so long then suddenly stuck in the woods with him made me realize we had both changed.

Growing up, Merle was needy. He didn't like to admit it, but he was. He needed me to feel useful. He always made up the excuse that he took care of me better than our old man. Sure, that was true, can't deny that. The only person in that house a bigger shit than Merle was Pop. But I only let Merle think he was taking care of me. I could handle myself. I was better off alone. Merle needed someone.

Now, it was the other way around. I always thought I was better off alone because I didn't belong anywhere except with Merle, but now I had a place. People who actually cared about me. I hadn't had that. Ever. Not really. And now Merle could survive on his own, even with one hand. He didn't need me, not like these people.

I didn't want to call them my family. I didn't even know what a family was, really. Family was a big word. But it was the best way to describe them.

I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes.

I felt a nudge.

I opened my eyes and there was Mel. She was nudging my foot with hers.

"Are you awake?" She whispered. I nodded once in response. I crossed my legs under me and Mel sat down in front of me, leaving a respectful eight inches in between us.

"Sometimes I forget that this all used to be a TV show." Mel admitted.

"You called me a psycho." I replied. Thinking back on it, I guess I was a little crazy then.

"Yeah, well, you were." She replied. "And Merle was a shit face. You shouldn't have left us for him. It wasn't a trade up."

"He's my brother." I glared at her.

"And..." She paused. Mel looked out toward the holding cell. "And if I had to choose between my parents and brothers and everyone here... I would pick everyone here." She looked back at me with those emerald eyes. Why hadn't I noticed her eyes before?

"No you wouldn't." I said. Why did the idea of her leaving the group punch me right in the gut? Hadn't I just done that?

"Yes I would, and it would break my mother's heart, but I would." She said more firmly. "Thank God I don't have to choose. But you had that choice, and you chose wrong. I'm sure Merle can handle himself. He cut off his own hand and still survived long enough to make it here."

I studied Mel's face. She really was pissed at me. If I didn't know better, I'd say she hated me.

"I know." I said.

"Good. So you promise never to leave again?" She asked. "Never, ever again. Even if we exile Merle after this, you're staying here, right?" She looked at me pleadingly.

"I won't leave."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Mel nodded. "I'm holding you to that." She stood up and walked back to her cell.

I sat in silence for a long time after that. What Mel had said was true. Merle could handle himself and, I guess, I did make the wrong choice, choosing Merle over the group. They welcomed me back. They didn't have to, but they did. They weren't happy with me, but that was okay, they'd get over it.

I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes.

Whatever happened next, I promised Mel I wouldn't leave, and that was a promise I was determined to keep.

 **Author's Note: I haven't posted two chapters in one day in a while, but I wanted to write this one. Writing P.O.V.s is weird for me because I don't know what sounds like the character or not, but I think I got this one right. Daryl doesn't say much anyway and he seems like a thinker and observer. Leave a review if you have any questions, comments, or concerns or feel free to send me a message. Have a nice day!**


	32. Chapter 32

*Mel's P.O.V.*

I was determined to make sure Dixon kept his promise. He wasn't going to leave us again. I still kind of hated him, but I hated him less now that I talked to him. He promised he was never going to leave, and I was holding him to that. We weren't sure what we were going to do with Merle once this was all over, but we knew we needed him.

And that thing I said about my family... It was true, though. What would it be like to go back to a world where walkers were people in make-up? Where I could sleep soundly every night in a real bed with out having to worry about my safety or the safety of others? It would be hell, that's what it would be like. I wouldn't be able to sleep. I wouldn't be able to go back to my old life. The mundane worries of "does he like me back" and taxes were minuscule compared to what I've been through the past year. I put my hand over the wound in my side. How was I going to explain this to my mom?

No, it'd be better if I stayed here.

I laid down on the bottom bunk and looked up at the bottom of the top one. I didn't sleep, I stayed awake all night. Early the next morning, I got up and made my way down to the ground floor. Judith was waking up and I went to pick her up. She usually slept in Rick's cell in her make-shift crib. I snuck in and out, careful not to wake up Rick. I felt like Rick needed sleep more than I did.

I gently bounced Judith as I walked into the holding area to make her a bottle. Merle was already awake and sitting inside one of the cells.

"Mornin'." He said. I ignored him. I made Judith her bottle and sat down to feed her.

"You weren't in Atlanta." Merle said, it wasn't a question. "I'd remember you if you had been." I glared at him. I stood up and walked back up to my cell. Judith protested when I took the bottle out of her mouth but forgave me as soon as I sat down and continued feeding her. Once she was done eating. I sat down on the ground and played with Judith and waited for everyone to wake up.

Beth came up to my cell and peeked her head in. "There she is." I looked up at her.

"Yeah, I was up and she was hungry." I looked back down at Judith to avoid seeing Beth's concerned face.

"You were up?"

"Yep." I stood up and picked up Judith. Beth held her arms out and I handed over the baby.

"I always wanted a baby." Beth confided. "I guess this is as close as I'm going to get, huh?"

I shrugged. "I never wanted a baby. I had to take care of my baby brothers and it was hell."

Beth chuckled. "You might change your mind."

I looked at her. She had this look on her face, the same look my best friend Ross would give me when my crush would walk into class.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." She said, looking everywhere except at me.

"Beth."

"Nothing." She said more firmly. "I promise. I didn't mean anything."

I kept staring at her, but she walked away before I could say anything else. I sighed and headed back down to the first floor. Rick, Michonne, and Carl were getting ready to go on a run to get guns and ammo and stuff so we could fight the Governor.

They took the green Hondai and were gone for most of the day. I spent most of they day making rounds in the courtyard. My side was killing me, but I kept walking around. I didn't want to be inside the prison. Merle was there and I hated listening to him talk. Everyone else were going to watch me and try to tell me what to do, take a nap, rest, take a nap, eat, blah, blah, blah.

So I walked to avoid them until I couldn't walk anymore. I needed food and water and my side was hurting so bad it felt like it was it was breaking me in half.

I sat on top of one of the tables while Hershel cleaned and redressed my would. Apparently the reason my side was hurting so much more was because I had somehow popped a stitch.

"You need to rest." Hershel insisted. "Please, Mel. We need everyone in the best shape as possible, for whatever happens. You're going to take a lot longer to heal completely if you don't take a break to let it happen." I sighed but listened to him, despite the fact that I really didn't want to. It was another nice day outside and I wanted to enjoy it. But it didn't look like I was going to get the chance.

I sat down on the actual bench and Beth came over and challenged me to a few rounds of Egyptian Rat.

A few hours later, Rick, Michonne, and Carl came back and they had guns. Lots of guns and lots of ammo. Practically a whole armory.

A couple of days later, Rick, Hershel, and Dixon went to meet with the Governor to try and stop a war. Yeah, a war. That's a good way to say it.

The rest of us stayed behind to fortify the prison.

Glenn handed Carl a couple of boxes of ammo. "Put these in the loading dock." He handed Beth another couple. "These go in the catwalk. If anyone gets pinned down, I want them to have a lot of ammo."

"You know what we should be doing with all this?" Merle asked in his gravelly voice. Glenn glared at him. "We know where the Governor is..."

"If we go in there guns blazing, they could take our guys hostage or kill them. We're staying here." Glenn said firmly. Merle just shook his head.

"My dad can handle himself." Carl added.

"Your dad's head is going to be on a spit here soon." Merle shot back.

Carl glared at Merle and made his way to the loading dock. Glenn hadn't told me to do anything, he was as bad as Hershel was about the rest thing, so I followed Carl.

"Where should we put these?" Carl asked me.

"I don't know." I replied. Carl wanted to be a grown up. He wanted to show everyone that he was an adult and could take care of himself, so I was going to let him decide where to put the ammo. I just tagged along because I didn't want to be stuck with Merle.

Carl and I headed back to the holding area, but there was a commotion inside.

"I'm not letting you leave." Glenn was telling Merle. Merle said something I couldn't make out, then Glenn and Merle tumbled to the ground. My first instinct was to run in and grab Glenn, so that was exactly what I did. I grabbed Glenn around the waist and pulled him back while Maggie put Merle in a headlock and Michonne had his arm with the metal contraption on the end where his hand used to be.

Maggie and Michonne were still wrestling with Merle, and I had issues keeping a hold on Glenn so he wouldn't pound Merle into the ground. Suddenly, a shot went off. We all stopped and looked up to see Beth holding a gun in the air. She had this hard look on her face, a kind of "don't mess with me" look. She glared at everyone. I let go of Glenn and Maggie and Michonne let go of Merle. Glenn went off to do something and Merle went back to his cell.

"What the fuck?" I asked.

"Merle was being Merle." Maggie replied. She gestured to me to come closer.

"What?" I asked.

"Do you know Merle?" She asked quietly

"Oh, yeah, but he was only in the first episode." I whispered back. "He was handcuffed to the roof of a department store and he had to cut his hand off to get free." I thought back to the first season. "Yeah, he was a douche bag, and he didn't get much better. I thought he died, actually." Maggie nodded.

"Hey." She said. "Can I look at your side? I bet you did something when you grabbed Glenn." I nodded and pulled up my shirt. Maggie looked at my side, but I hadn't done anything like pop a stitch so it was okay.

* * *

Rick, Dixon, and Hershel came back finally. We gathered in the main hall of C block.

"He wants the prison." Rick explained. "He wants us dead for what we did to Woodbury." Rick paused. "We're going to war."

Yep. War. That's a good way to say it.

 **Author's Note: This chapter isn't good, in my opinion, but nothing really happens while at the prison and Rick and them are with th** **e Governor, but I did my best. Have a great day!**


	33. Chapter 33

"It's a pretty crib." I told Carl. I had moved the crib out from Rick's cell so Judith could spend time with everyone. Judith had other plans, though, like sleeping. Carl and I were sitting next to the crib playing Hearts with the deck of cards. He was tired of losing Egyptian Rat. Beth had joined us after Carl started getting the hand of the game and I had to re-teach it. Michonne came and sat down, too, but she already knew how to play. Most of the time it was either me or her who won.

Rick, Dixon, Glenn, and them had been fortifying the prison some more this morning and were taking a break now.

"Did you see a guy named Morgan?" Carl asked me. "You know, before." I looked up at him. He meant back when this was a world of make believe.

"Yeah, but not much of him." I replied. Michonne and Merle had no idea where I came from and I didn't want them to, it didn't matter anymore. "Why?"

"We went back home." Carl told me. "And this guy Morgan was there. He's where we got all the guns." He lowered his voice then almost to a whisper. "How does he know dad?"

"After your dad woke up he met Morgan. Morgan's the reason he lived long enough to find you and Lori in Atlanta." I replied. "He had a son."

"There wasn't a kid there."

I looked down at the cards in my hands. I guess he died. Duane, his name was, didn't deserve to die.

Michonne won the hand and I glared at her. She smiled back at me gloatingly and shuffled and dealt the deck.

"Do you like Michonne?" Carl asked at normal volume like Michonne wasn't even there. "Dad said she's only here because of common interests."

I glanced at Michonne. "Technically speaking, we're all here out of 'common interests' and now we call each other family." Carl nodded and looked at Michonne. I did like her. I felt like she was part of the group now.

We played a couple more rounds of Heart before Rick said it was time to keep going. Michonne got up and headed outside with Dixon, Glenn, and Rick. Everyone went off to do their own things.

* * *

*Rick's P.O.V*

The only way out of this peacefully was to give the Governor Michonne. I had already decided to do it, but I was still struggling with the decision. That's why I told Hershel about it. I hoped he'd talk me out of it. I told Daryl. I told Merle. Hershel and Daryl both told me not to do it, but Merle said I should.

Then Mel made that comment. We _were_ all here out of common interests, and now we were a family. We were more than family. And as much as I don't want to admit it to make this decision easier, Michonne was becoming a part of this family.

That's when I saw Lori in the catwalk. But she wasn't really there. She couldn't be. But she was. And that's when I knew what I had to do.

I went back inside the cell block to look for Michonne. Hershel was sitting at one of the tables with Maggie and Beth. The two of them scurried off while Hershel made his way over to me.

"Rick." The older man said.

"I'm not gonna do it. I can't. I won't." I told him. I saw understanding and relief in his eyes. Then he let me look for Michonne, but I couldn't find her. I couldn't find Merle either.

 _Shit_.

I ran back outside to find Daryl.

* * *

*Mel's P.O.V*

Merle had kidnapped Michonne. He was probably taking her to the Governor. Dixon went off to find them. He was the best tracker and would be able to find the two of them before they got too far. Not to mention Merle was his brother, and for some reason I didn't understand, Dixon loved Merle.

I was wandering around the prison, looking for good places or vantage points with the greatest strategic value when Glenn found me.

"Hey, could you come with me for a sec? Are you busy?" He asked.

"No, not busy, and sure." I followed Glenn outside and into the walkway that wrapped around the prison.

"What do you want?" I asked Glenn, looking around at all the walkers on the on the other side of the fence.

"I need your help to find a ring." Glenn said a little sheepishly.

I stared at him. It took everything in my power not to start screaming, but that only meant that it got bottled up inside and I had to jump up and down with excitement.

"Oh, my God!" I squealed as quietly as I could manage, which was hard because I was excited. I threw my arms around Glenn's neck and hugged him. He laughed and hugged me back. "Eeek! I am so excited! I'm probably more excited than you and that's weird but it's probably true." Glenn laughed again and I released him.

I gave him a peck on the cheek and helped him look around for rings. I found one walker with a mighty fine stone on her finger and pointed it out to Glenn. He walked over and removed the female walker's fingers.

I wrinkled my nose. "Ew. Okay, I'm excited for you and Maggie, but that's still disgusting as fuck." Glenn laughed and the two of us walked back up to the prison.

"I hope you're going to wash it." I told Glenn.

"What? Why?" Glenn asked. "I think it's fine with all the walker blood on it. Hey, maybe Daryl could make a necklace out of these." Glenn held up the walker fingers and I groaned.

"Ew, no." I complained. "Gross. The ears were bad ass, don't get me wrong, but fingers are gross."

"Oh, so you thought the ear necklace was bad ass?" Glenn teased.

"Yeah, for about five minutes. I swear to God if you tell Dixon I said that, I will kill you in your sleep." Glenn laughed and tossed an arm across my shoulders. I missed spending time with Glenn. It had been crazy for the last couple of weeks, so we couldn't go on runs or just straight up hang out. There were too many things to do and Glenn was still recovering from what Merle had done to him.

Glenn walked back into the prison to clean the ring and Beth came out and walked with me around the courtyard. We didn't have much to talk about, but we made do.

Rick called a meeting and we gathered out in front of the cell block. I looked over at Glenn and Maggie and saw a ring on Maggie's finger. I smiled at Glenn and he smiled back. I sat down next to Carl and Beth sat down next her dad.

"The Governor, he made me a deal." Rick started. "If I give him Michonne, he'll leave us alone. I thought about it, I did. And then Mel said something that made me realize that I was about to make a mistake. What I said after the farm, that doesn't apply anymore. The decisions aren't all on me anymore. I thought I was fighting for the greater good, well, _we_ are the greater good. Merle took Michonne and was taking her to the Governor. Daryl went after them but I don't know if he got there in time or what. I wasn't going to give the Governor Michonne. She's one of us now, and I should have told you about the deal, so we could all decide on it. I'm telling you now." Rick paused and studied each of our faces carefully.

"If you want to stay and defend the prison, then we'll stay, if you want to leave, we'll leave, either way, we vote on it." He finished.

And with that, Rick walked away.


	34. Chapter 34

We decided to defend the prison.

Michonne had made her way back. She said Merle had let her go and that Dixon had found her and headed off to find Merle.

Later that night, Dixon came back. He didn't say much, not that he ever does. He came in, told us that Merle was dead, then slunk off to the perch to be left alone. No one bothered him for the rest of the day. That night, I went to go see him.

"You okay?" I asked. It was hard to lose family. He didn't say anything, just sat in silence. I resolved myself to sit with him in silence.

"He was a walker." Dixon said finally. I nodded. That was worse than just straight up killing someone.

"I'm sorry." I told him.

"No you ain't." Dixon said. "You hated Merle. Everybody hated him." He looked down at his boots.

"Maybe." I shrugged. "But you didn't hate Merle. And we don't hate you. So, in way, we didn't hate Merle either. Kind of. If you follow my probably flawed logic."

Dixon stared at me, but it was a different stare. He usually glared at me. Or if he did look at me, it was like he was looking through me; like I was so beneath him that I didn't deserve his full and undivided attention. But this time, he was _looking_ at me. Really looking. I wondered what he was seeing. Probably some dirty, skinny, girl with too big eyes and hair so dirty you couldn't tell what color it was anymore.

"I really am sorry." I repeated. "Merle was a douche but he didn't deserve to be a walker, he didn't deserve to die. And you didn't deserve to have to go through that. Bad things happen to good people, that's what my mom told me after my brother died."

"Merle was a good person?" Dixon asked in disbelief.

"Oh hells no." I said, holding up my hands like I was pushing someone away. "But you are, and you didn't deserve that." I sat quietly for a moment. Dixon didn't supply anything to the continuation of the conversation, either. So we just sat. Then I did something I never thought I'd do. I moved so I was on my knees, then I leaned over and hugged Dixon. He was sitting, so I couldn't put my arms around his waist, so instead I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a little squeeze. He was frozen and tense. He probably had no idea what was going on. Or maybe he was grossed out by how bad I smelled. In my defense, Dixon probably smelled worse.

I let go of him just as he was moving his arms, probably to reciprocate the hug, or maybe to push me away, but I didn't give myself the chance to find out. I needed to let go. That was the most awkwardest thing that had ever happened in the history of the universe, swear to God. I stood up and walked back to my cell. I laid down on the bottom bunk to sleep, but didn't get a wink.

* * *

Rick had insisted that Beth, Hershel, Carl, Judith, and I hide out in the woods until the fight was over. We all had guns except the baby of course. We took the Hondai and loaded it up with supplies and stuff, just in case we had to camp out out in the woods.

Carl was pissed. He wanted to stay and help fight. Rick wasn't having it, and neither was Carl.

We waited out in the woods for hours. Suddenly, there was a rustle in the bushes. Carl was on one side of the car and I was on the other. Beth and Hershel were hiding behind the trunk with Judith.

A boy stumbled out of the bushes. A boy not much older than Carl, it looked like.

Carl held up his gun and aimed it at the boy. "Put your gun down." Carl commanded. The boy put his gun on the ground. I looked at Carl.

"Carl, he's a kid. Let him go, he's running away." I had had my gun up, too, but now I lowered it. The boy was scared shitless. Terror was written all over his face.

Determination was written all over Carl's face.

"Carl." I said more firmly.

"I have to." Carl said. "I have to."

He though he had to kill that boy.

"No you don't."

"He's one of the Governor's soldiers!" Carl insisted.

"He's a kid." I shot back. I turned to the boy. "Go, run. Get away from here."

"No!" Carl practically screamed.

"Yes." I hissed at him over the hood of the car. I was going to save Carl's humanity one way or another. If I had to ninja my way over the car and John Cena him to the ground, you bet your bottom dollar I'd do it.

"Go." I repeated to the boy. He slowly bent toward his gun on the ground.

"Leave the gun" Carl demanded.

"Take it." I contradicted. "I have a feeling you've never taken out a walker in your life. You'll need all the help you can get. Take the gun, get away from here, but if I see your face anywhere near that prison, so help me God..." I trailed off, leaving the ending of the threat to be intuited. There actually was no ending to the threat, I wasn't going to do anything, but I was sure Carl would definitely kill that boy if he ever saw him again.

The boy snatched up his gun and ran off in the exact opposite direction of the prison.

"Why did you let him go?" Carl spat at me. I glared at him.

"Give me, your gun." I said slowly and quietly. I used the same voice I had used on Jackson or Tyler or anyone when I wanted them to take me seriously. I spoke slowly so they heard every syllable I uttered. I spoke quietly because I was a naturally loud talker. My tone was as serious as a heart attack. My eye contact was unbreakable as diamond.

Carl glared at me, but put his gun on the hood of the car and pushed it across so it made it to me.

"Get, in, the car." I said in the same voice. "And I'll be _damned_ if your father does here about his." I growled. Carl climbed into the car and closed the door. At least the kid had enough sense not to slam the door. I looked at Hershel and Beth. They didn't say anything, but Hershel motioned with his head for me to follow him. We walked a few yards away from the car.

"Thank you." The old man said. "Thank you for stopping him." I nodded.

"Lori asked me to watch him. So I'm going to watch him." I looked down at my shoes. "Lori was worried that he was going to turn into a monster. He's not going to, not if I can help it." I looked back at the car and saw Carl sitting with his arms crossed in the passenger seat. "Judith, either. If I'm still around when that little girl really gets growing, she's going to have as perfect a childhood if I have any say, mark my words." I looked back at Hershel. He was smiling a little.

"It still amazes me how much we all have changed." Hershel shook his head then headed back to the car. I sighed. I stayed yards away from the car until I heard the signal that meant it was safe for us to go back. I drove us back to the prison. There wasn't as much damage as I thought there would be, and everyone was still alive.

Rick walked over to Beth and Judith and touched the baby's head and hugged Beth. He nodded at Hershel and Hershel nodded back, then he knealt down and hugged Carl. Carl squirmed and freed himself.

"Carl, hug your dad." I said.

"You're not my mom." He said. I stared at him aghast.

"Carl." Beth said.

"Did anything happen in the woods?" Rick asked, looking between me, Hershel, Beth, and Carl.

"Your son is more of a psycho than Dixon was last year. At least Dixon never threatened to _shoot_ a kid in the _head_." I stared at Carl right in the eye. "You are _so_ lucky I'm not your mother. I'd have smacked the blue out of your eyes and the brown out of your hair."

"I didn't kill the walker that walker, then it killed Dale. Dad didn't kill Andrew, and then he killed mom and T-Dog and almost killed Carol. Dad was in a room with the Governor and he didn't kill him, then Merle died. You should have let me kill him. Or at least you should have killed him for me."

"You want to be an adult? Adults don't kill kids. Adults don't act like kids, that's why they're called adults." I yelled at Carl. I couldn't help it. I wanted to be calm and cool and collected, but if I'm being honest, Carl was scaring me with his cryptic little comments and then today when he almost killed that boy. I was scared. And when people get scared, they do crazy things.

"Get your shit together, _little boy_. You're a kid, be a fucking kid. I know it's probably hard now, but try. Just because you shot your mom doesn't mean you deserve to be looked at like an adult. You aren't an adult, you are a fucking kid." I took a deep breath. "All you did was shoot someone. If being an adult was as easy was shooting someone, then no one would be an adult because killing someone shouldn't be easy." I looked at Carl in the eyes. "It shouldn't be easy, Carl. Get your shit together. Organize your priorities. Why are you so eager to be a grown up while everyone else here is trying to keep you a kid?" My voice got quieter and softer near the end of my little rant. Carl looked down at his shoes then walked back into the prison.

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked down at my shoes to avoid eye contact with everyone. "So where's the Governor?" I asked.

"Gone." Rick said.

"We should go after him." Glenn said.

"Agreed." I said.

"Let's go, then." Rick said. "Load up the truck." I had no idea who he was talking to.

"Hey." I looked up into Rick's face. "Did Carl really almost gun down a boy?"

"Yes, he really almost killed someone in cold blood." I replied. "The boy was scared out of his tree. I bet he would have been crying and screaming for his mom if he hadn't been so surprised by seeing Carl with a gun." Rick nodded. "I let him go. I let him take his gun and run away. Chances are he's dead by now, he's never killed a walker in his life." Rick nodded again and looked toward the prison.

"Thank you for watching him." Rick said. "And those things you said... you're right. And maybe it's partly my fault. I haven't been all here."

"We've noticed." I said quietly. "But you're back now, right? And when you get back from finally ending the Governor, you're going to be Carl's dad again, right?"

"Right." Rick confirmed.

"Because Carl's right, I'm not his mom, but I feel like I am because you're not here."

"I'll be here now. After the Governor is gone, I'll be here." Rick nodded, almost like he was trying to convince himself.

"It's almost like you forgot how to be a father when the world ended. Maybe Carl can teach you how to be a father and you can teach him how to be a son." I commented.

Rick looked me in the eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if you really are seventeen."

"Eighteen now, I think." I corrected. "But who cares, really." I shrugged. Rick smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. He then turned and left with Michonne and Dixon to find the Governor. Hours later, they came back, but they weren't alone.

They had a bus in tow. And inside the bus were more survivors.

 **Author's Note: This chapter is crazy long compared to the other ones I've posted, but I didn't want to stop. It was all just flowing out of me. I feel like I have to apologize for Mel a little, she got a little stir crazy with Carl, but it's only because she cares about him and doesn't want this new world to change him past the point of no return. Alrighty, it's almost 1 a.m. over here and I need to go to sleep. Have a good night/day!**


	35. Chapter 35

It had been a couple of months since the Woodbury survivors came to live with us, and there had been lot of changes. We took the yard back and rebuilt the gate. Hershel showed Rick how to farm and now we were growing our own food, though sometimes Dixon went out and hunted down a deer or something or we went on runs. We rigged up a plumbing system and now we had water to take showers in and stuff. The Woodbury survivors had their own cell block to live in and we had ours. We could have lives now.

I still didn't sleep much despite knowing that we were safe. I spent most of my time in the library with a flashlight. Woodbury had quite the library and we ransacked it when we picked it clean. We took weapons, clothes, food, anything that we could use to make the prison a better place to live.

And it was nice having all the extra people around. There were kids for Carl to play with, teens for Beth and I to talk to, and adults for everyone else to make friends with. I mean, Beth even had herself a little boyfriend. Zach, his name was. He was kind of cute, if you liked a sort of geek/rocker type deal. That what he seemed to me, like a geek who wanted to be the rocker type. Not that I thought type had any meaning anymore, it was the end of the world.

Then there were the constant newcomers. We had set up a council to make all the decisions and the council had come up with three questions to ask anyone we met on the road during runs:

How many walkers have you killed?

How many people have you killed?

Why?

Most of the time, we liked the answers, and that's how our group grew. The most recent recruit was a man named Bob. Bob was cool. I liked Bob. Everyone else was sort of suspicious of him because Sasha and them had found him alone on the road, but I liked him. He had been a medic in the army, that was going to come in handy, I was sure.

I started going on runs a couple of weeks after the Woodbury survivors moved in. I was all healed up and Hershel gave me the okay. On one of those runs I found a bunch of sports equipment; basketballs, soccer balls, baseballs and baseball bats, kick balls. I even found dodge balls. I appointed myself the P.E. teacher and once in a while I would gather anyone who wanted to play and we would play baseball or soccer or kick ball. Usually we played in the gymnasium because it was inside and we could get noisy, especially when we played dodge ball, but a lot of the time we were outside. I cannot tell you how many baseballs we lost because of Carl hitting them over the fence. We finally had to outlaw baseball unless we were inside because of Carl.

Ah, Carl. He'd been weird for a few days after the governor attacked the prison. He kept his distance and surveyed the newcomers like he was hunting deer. Finally, Rick took him out and showed him what Hershel had taught Rick and Carl began getting normal again. He started talking to me again and challenging me to Egyptian Rat and Hearts. He never expressly addressed what had happened in the courtyard that day, but I got the idea. He was sorry, I could tell, and that was enough for me.

Michonne went on runs to find the Governor with no such luck. She would bring back whatever she could find, most of the time comic books for Carl. Carl and I shared the comic books and looked forward to Michonne's return because 1) it meant she wasn't dead and 2) she had more comic books.

Everything was going smoothly. The other survivors were actually really nice and accepting of us as the leaders. We, the original group, commanded a lot of respect for some reason. They trusted us, and after a while, we began to trust them.

It was nice at the prison, like it was before, at least, for little bit.

* * *

We needed to go on a run for supplies.

We could spare too many people, so it was just going to be a few of us. Sasha, Tyrese, Dixon, Glenn, Bob, Zach, and me. Bob wanted to earn his keep, but he'd only been here a week and Sasha was skeptical, but she let him come. Beth came to say goodbye, sort of, to Zach. She kissed him a couple of times then walked off, never actually saying goodbye. She didn't like saying goodbye.

When Beth and Zach started... doing whatever they were doing, dating? I don't know, Beth told me she hoped that I'd like one of the other boys. I didn't. I hadn't even thought about stuff like that since getting here, there were so many other things to think about. But Glenn and Maggie got together, and Beth had Zach, and I was sure something was going on between Tyrese and Karen, but the possibility of me finding someone had never crossed my mind. To be honest, I never thought I'd get the chance.

Well, I guess I have a chance now, the only thing missing was guys I could actually like.

I packed up the green Hondai and attached my crowbar to my belt. It was the same crowbar I had found in Hershel's car after we had to escape the farm. Crowbars weren't the choice of weapon for everyone else, but I had worked with it so long that I had gotten good at handling it, the same way Michonne had learned how to handle her sword. Which was bad ass. She was a black ninja assassin. So cool.

I climbed into the car and Glenn jumped into the driver seat. Dixon pulled out ahead of us on his bike and we followed. The silver truck followed us and we headed down the path toward the front gate.

"Glenn, let me roll the window down." I said. Glenn had locked the windows. "Glennnnnnnnn! Let me roll the window doooowwwnnnn!"

Glenn shook his head, smiling.

"Fine." We were driving slow enough that I could open the door and jump out with out getting hurt. Which is exactly what I did. I had to run a little because the car was going faster than I thought, but I didn't break my leg and I didn't fall on my face or my ass so I was okay. I trotted over to Dixon, Rick, Carl, and Michonne who had just gotten back.

"Hey!" I said hugged the black ninja assassin. She hugged me back.

"I was just telling Daryl here that I was going to tag along." Michonne said. I smiled

"Cool. You can ride with Glenn and me." I replied.

"But she just got here." Carl protested.

"And I'll be back." Michonne replied. I ruffled Carl's hair and he tried to push me away, which only made me want to mess with him more. We wrestled a little before Glenn called out of the car, "Hey, let's go." I pushed Carl and he almost fell, laughing. I ran to the car and jumped in before he could retaliate. Glenn shook his head and Michonne was smiling from the back seat, then we followed Dixon out onto the road.

 **Author's Note: Alright, I know I haven't posted in a while, but here you go. Have a nice day!**


	36. Chapter 36

"The army set this place up as a place for people to go." Dixon was explaining. "When we got here, it was full of walkers."

"Did they all just leave?" Bob asked.

"No, listen." Sasha said, pausing. In the distance music played loud and strong.

"A boombox hooked up to two car batteries." Glenn explained.

"You could have picked better music." I stated. "I mean, can't go wrong with some Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, am I right?"

Glenn laughed. "I'll consider it next time."

"Damn straight you will." I said pushing him.

"Can you get your shit together?" Dixon asked gruffly. "Be on the look out, not all of 'em mighta come out." He lead the way into the fenced in parking lot of the store and I made faces at his back.

"Alrighty Senor Buzzkill." I said just loud enough that he could hear. He glared at me over his shoulder and I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. Sasha grabbed my other hand and led me inside. She let go of my hand and I pulled out my crowbar, just so I was ready, but there weren't any walkers in the parking lot. I scoured around for a while, just to make sure, then I walked over to Michonne, Zach, and Dixon. Michonne was leaning against the wall, Zach was sitting on the window ledge with Dixon.

"Homicide cop." Zach said. Dixon looked at him. "Am I right."

"Actually, yeah." Dixon confirmed. "I don't talk about it 'cause it was deep undercover. Crazy dark shit happened."

"Bullshit." I sang, slinging my arm across Michonne's shoulders. She put her arm around my waist and laughed.

"Naw, it's true." Dixon said looking me in the eye.

"Just keep guessing, Zachy." I said, never breaking eye contact with Dixon. He smirked a little.

"Yeah I'll just keep guessing." Zach affirmed.

"Yeah you keep doing that." Dixon murmured. We still hand't stopped staring at each other. I swear I hadn't blinked in over a minute and neither had he. It was like we were having a staring contest, a staring contest that was making Michonne and Zach uncomfortable. Luckily for them, a couple of walkers crashed into the window.

"Show time." I sang, removing my arm from Michonne's shoulder. We turned toward the doors and Dixon was there, ready to open them. We cleared out the walkers no problem and started walking the aisles of the store.

"Take only what you need." Dixon called. "We'll make another run for more supplies later when we have more people." I sighed as I pushed my cart around. Dixon was acting like the dad of the group, the boss, the head honcho. The only person who probably couldn't handle himself was Zach, but the rest of us have been going on runs and killing walkers just as long as Dixon. Well, in my case, almost as long, but I knew what I was doing now. I didn't need Dixon to tell me how to do this. For some reason, over the past couple of months, I had started to really dislike him. Just looking at him pissed me off. Before the other survivors, I thought we were finally starting become... well, become more than just two passing ships in the night. Now, everything he did was annoying.

I was so caught up in my own thoughts I hadn't noticed I was about to run into Glenn until I ran into Glenn.

"You okay?" He asked, smiling a sad smile.

"Yeah, just thinking, are you okay?" I looked at what Glenn had been looking at. He had been looking at those cute little picture things you could get printed out with your baby's face on it and their name and date of birth and everything. "Is Maggie..."

"No." Glenn said too quickly. "I mean, we don't know. I hope not, not in this world."

"We live in a safe place." I pointed out. "Safer than anywhere else we've lived. Maybe you'll change your mind when she does get pregnant."

"Would you want to bring a baby into this world?" Glenn asked. "I mean, I love Judith as much as the rest of you, but..."

"No, I get it, it's okay." I said looking Glenn in the eyes. "To be honest, I never wanted to have a baby in the first place. I had my baby brothers and that was enough to put me off babies forever."

Glenn smiled a little. "The best form of birth control."

"Babies and the apocalypse." I said. Glenn chuckled and I patted him on the shoulder as I walked past. I hadn't grabbed anything to put in my pack, most of the stuff I thought to grab had already been grabbed by someone else. I walked and walked until I found the toy aisle. I looked around to make sure the coast was clear and walked down and looked at all the toys. I grabbed some toy cars and removed the packaging and put them in my backpack. I found a doll and did the same thing. There were even Legos I kidnapped and hid in my backpack. Before I had a chance to pick through the other toys, I heard a crash. I left my empty cart and ran out to see what had happened.

Of course it happened in the liquor aisle.

A shelf had fallen and Dixon said Bob was trapped underneath. As everyone tried to figure out how to get Bob out, there was a crack from the ceiling and a walker fell through the roof. It got caught by all its innards and grossness on the spiney bits of the ceiling. I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep from puking, then another walker fell through the roof on the other side of the store.

Suddenly, it was raining walkers.

Then everything happened in both fast forward and slow motion. I took out my crossbow and whacked a walker. I saw Glenn struggling with a couple of walkers and his gun was too far away. I killed the two walkers and helped him to his feet.

"Do you need a nap or are you good." I huffed. Glenn looked at me but a smile played on his lips.

"We have to get Bob." He said. I nodded. Dixon killed the walker that was trying to eat Bob. He and Zach held up the shelf and I pulled Bob free. He stood up and we stood for a second, then Zach screamed. I looked over and he was being bitten on the leg. If any of us had been just a few seconds faster, we could have saved him the same way we had saved Hershel, but we weren't seconds faster. Zach went down and walkers swarmed him.

That's when I heard the groaning of bending metal. I looked up and saw a helicopter that must have been on the roof. I felt someone grab my arm and pull me. I turned and saw Dixon. He had my arm and was pulling me behind him. We got out of the way of the helicopter just as it fell and crashed onto the floor.

We ran out to the cars and paused.

"Who's here, who's not." Dixon said.

"Zach's not." I said. I looked around, everyone else was. Glenn, Michonne, Sasha, Tyrese, Dixon, me. We were fine, Zach was dead. Poor Beth.

No one had managed to get anything from the store before the walker storm. Well, no one except me. I had toys.

When we got back, Rick asked how it went. We told him it didn't. They were standing in the cell block and I was sitting on the ground with Carl.

"You didn't get anything?" Rick asked. Hershel hung his head while Dixon shook his. I winced.

"I got toys. They aren't important, but I got toys." I said. "The other stuff I was going to grab already got grabbed." I defended myself. Dixon glared at me. I picked up my backpack and handed Carl the toy cars and Legos. I took the doll and held it out to Rick. "This one's for Judith." I looked at Carl. "You have to share those Legos with me, 'kay?"

He nodded and opened the boxes to get building.

"So you didn't grab anything useful?" Dixon asked.

"Toys are useful." I defended myself. "They inspire imagination." I made my hands draw a rainbow at the word _imagination_.

"Something's wrong with you." Glenn said, but he was smiling.

I shrugged. "Toys are fun." Dixon shook his head and headed up to the perch. Obviously I irritated him just as much as he had been irritating me.

I sat with Carl and played with the Legos and cars until it was much too late to continue doing so. Luckily for me, I actually fell asleep that night, Lord knew I was going to need it there soon.


	37. Chapter 37

**Author's Note: Hey sorry for taking so long to post. I have to re-watch the episode I'm writing so I get it right and my second semester of college just started so I really haven't had the time to sit down and watch, but I do now! So here you go, the next chapter in Mel's story. Once I figure out what my days will look like, I should be able to post fairly regularly. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**

That damn kitchen timer always woke me up. Rick set it all the time and it always went off at the same time. I don't even know what he uses it for. I got up and stretched, making weird noises, and bending my body into weird shapes. I climbed out of my cell and down to the first floor. Michonne was already up and at 'em. Rick put Judith back in her crib in his cell and I joined Rick, Carl, and Michonne. I hated it when Michonne left and didn't give me the chance to say goodbye.

Michonne and Carl were joking about stale M&Ms. "Bring me back a symphony bar, and I'll kiss you." I told Michonne. She laughed and led the horse away. After saying goodbye, I went back up to the prison. I may have grown up in Wyoming, but farming wasn't my thing. I would ride the horse and take care of them and everything, but when it came to digging holes and putting little bits of plants inside, that wasn't my style. I took care of the livestock sometimes, but Rick really liked doing it and all the farming and whatever.

Then we heard gun shots. They sounded like thunder coming from inside the prison. I looked back at Rick and Carl. Michonne must have heard, too, because she turned around and started to come back. I ran inside and grabbed my crowbar and headed into the other cell block.

It was chaos. Walkers were everywhere, people were freaking out. I killed a couple of walkers and grabbed a couple of kids and dragged them out of the cell block.

"Stay with them, I'll bring more out." Rick told me. He was running up the hallway. I nodded and he headed into the cell block. I had caught a glimpse of Carol and I was sure Glenn was in there, too, and Dixon probably. I stayed with the kids and Rick lead some more people out into the hallway.

Finally, Rick stepped out and said, "Clear." The other people moved back into the cell to find their loved ones. To find them dead. To find them alive. Who knew? I walked and looked into some of the cells. Carol was in one of them. She was kneeling by a man I recognized as the father of these too little girls, Micah and Lizzie. They hung out with Patrick and Carl a lot.

More of our group started to come. Herhsel, Doctor S from Woodbury, Bob. I looked up and around and saw Patrick as one of the dead.

"What happened?" I asked. Rick, Hershel, Doctor S, Dixon, and Bob were up on the second floor. Dixon leaned over with his hands on the banister.

"Looks like people are gettin' sick. Patrick wasn't bit and neither was this guy in here." Dixon looked over his shoulder. "Kills people fast. They choke on their blood. We're probly gonna get it, too." Dixon shook his head.

Then they called a council meeting. The council was made up of Hershel, Carol, Glenn, Sasha, and Dixon. I wandered around sort of numb. A sickness? Of all the dangers in this world, a cough was going to kill us? I headed to what I liked to call the Council Room and waited for the meeting to end. Karen and Tyrese started to walked down the hall and I watched them. Karen started coughing and a stone dropped into my stomach. What if she had it? I liked Karen. More importantly, I liked Karen and Tyrese. The Carol was the first one to leave the room.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"It's just a cough." Tyrese said. "I'm taking her back to my cell to rest."

"We can't risk that." Hershel said. We had made him a prosthetic leg so now he could walk around with out crutches.

"We think what happened was a sickness. It kills people fast." Glenn explained to Tyrese. "What if Karen has it? We can't risk it spreading. Everyone in that cell block is at risk. We have to contain it as much as possible."

"David was coughing, too." Karen said. Karen was good, she liked helping.

"I'm on it." Glenn said. I pushed myself off of the wall.

"I'll come, too." I said. Glenn nodded. Everyone who had been in the cell block was at risk.

"I remember reading this article about the Black Plague once." I told Glenn. "Scientists had discovered that it had more often infected and killed people with weak immune systems rather than healthy ones. The Black Plague killed off the weak leaving only the strong. Maybe this sickness will be similar? I mean, I don't want anyone to die, but maybe not as many people will get sick?"

Glenn looked at me but didn't say anything. He was thinking about Maggie. Maggie hadn't been in the cell block, meaning he wouldn't be allowed to get close to her for who knows how long.

"Okay." I said pausing "Ooh, did you know that Scotland's national animal was a unicorn? Or that when hippos get upset, their sweat turns red? I know stuff." Glenn finally broke into a smile, but it didn't really reach his eyes.

"Those are some of the most useless facts I've ever heard." Glenn shook his head.

I shrugged. "Maybe, but their cool. Not that ten years from now anyone will know what a unicorn or a hippo is." Glenn and I walked in silence for the rest of the way.

This was no time for random facts and joking around, but I couldn't help it. It was a coping mechanism.


	38. Chapter 38

**Author's Note: We had a snow day today so I'm going to try to catch up and write a couple of chapters today. Alright, please leave a review and tell me what you think and have a nice day!**

Karen and David were dead. Tyrese found them when he went to give Karen some flowers. The sickness hadn't killed them, though, they had been murdered. Tyrese found their charred remains. I didn't see the bodies myself, but I had seen Tyrese. His face was busted up and his eye was huge. I walked around the cell block, trying to find something useful to do when I saw Hershel wrapping up Rick's hand. Rick told me about Karen and David, but left out the end of the story, how he had beat Tyrese and almost broken his hand in the process. That much wasn't hard to figure out.

More and more people were getting sick. Soon enough, Glenn and Sasha had it. They had put the sick in one of the other cell blocks and quarantined the people who were at the most risk. Beth was in there with Judith, Carl, and Hershel. I had been in the cell bock when the infection had first made its appearance, so when I went into the administration/quarantine building to see Beth, I made sure that Beth closed the door before I came close.

"Your dad told us about this veterinary college not too far from here." I told Beth through the door. "Dixon and Michonne are going to go find meds and stuff. I think I'm going to go, too. I have no idea what to do around here now that my friends have to be locked away so they don't get sick."

"It'll be okay." Beth replied. "Like I told Maggie, we all have a job to do. Your job will be to go out and get meds so the sick can get better. You know Glenn's one of 'em, right?"

"Yeah." I replied. "Yeah, I do. Speaking of Maggie, how is she?"

"She's..." Beth trailed off and I didn't say anything else. We just sat in silence for a while longer.

"Did you hear about Karen and David?" I asked, finally breaking the silence.

"No, what happened? Did they die?"

"Well, sort of." I replied. "It looks like someone killed them to try and prevent the illness from spreading. It didn't work."

"Poor Tyrese. Poor Karen and David." Beth sighed, and again we sat in silence.

"Judith misses you, I think." Beth said. "Why don't you sing something to her before you go, just in case?"

I took a deep breath and started to sing _Over the Rainbow_ from _The Wizard of Oz_. It seemed out of place. The song was so happy and hopeful, the last two feelings I would use to describe how I felt, but I sang it anyway. Beth told me Judith was asleep. I told Beth goodbye and headed out. Just in case, Beth had said. I was getting a little worried about her. She hadn't cried when Zack died. She didn't seem freaked out at all about what was happening. I think she was just distancing herself from reality as much as she could so she wouldn't have to feel anything. That's no way to live.

I walked outside and found Michonne and Dixon by Zach's car. It was the fastest one we had. We didn't have time for a slow car or to be slowed down by anything.

"Hey." I said. Michonne nodded at me.

"Do you think I'm leaving too often?" Michonne asked me, glancing at Dixon.

"Uh... why?" I asked.

"Daryl here thinks I'm leaving too often to find the Governor. He doesn't think it's important anymore." Michonne huffed air out of her nose.

"I... I kind of agree with him, Michonne." I said hesitantly. "I mean, the Governor was a bad dude, but he's probably dead by now. I don't see a point anymore in trying to find him." I looked at Michonne. "I know finding him is real important to you, lady, but you need to chill. I think. If he's not dead and he shows his face up in here, you'll be the first to know and you'll get your chance to lop his head off with your ninja sword." I held my arms out and mimed slicing Michonne's head off with an imaginary sword. She smiled and shook her head.

"Whatever." Michonne flapped a hand at me and walked away to do... God knew what, leaving me alone with Dixon.

"How's the car looking?" I asked him after a few awkward moments of silence. It wasn't lost on me the fact that things were different between the two of us, and I had no idea how that had happened. Suddenly, I didn't want to kill him as bad as I have in the past.

"Zach kept it in pretty good shape." Dixon replied. He looked up at me. "Are you comin'?"

"Yeah, I think so." I replied, nodding. "I don't think I'm going to be of much use around here. In case you haven't noticed, though I'm sure you have, I'm not good at much."

"You're good at stuff." Dixon protested.

"Like...?" I asked.

"Like... killin' walkers. And... uh... talking to people." Dixon nodded and looked down at the car's engine. He was embarrassed.

"You embarrassed, Dixon?" I asked smirking. "Not used to giving people compliments?" He slammed the hood down and glared at me.

"Shut up."

"Right, 'cause killing former human beings is a good thing to be good at." I said nodding. "Of course. Why didn't I think of that? And talking to people, wow. Like I haven't been talking to people since I was two years old, right?" Dixon kept glaring at me which only made my smile widen.

Dixon opened his mouth to say something when Bob interrupted. "Are you sure I need to come?" He asked from somewhere behind the car. Dixon turned and pulled out a piece of paper and walked over to Bob.

"What's that word say?" He asked. Bob pronounced the word. "Yeah, we need you."

I pushed myself off of the car and stood by as Dixon packed up the car with some supplies. Michonne came back and Tyrese showed up, too. Dixon climbed into the passenger seat and Michonne got shotgun. I sighed as Bob took a seat in the back and Tyrese stood of to the side, all but telling me to go in before him so I could be in the middle. I had bob on my right and Tyrese on my left. Needless to say, I was not comfortable at all. I ended up moving so I was sitting on Bob's left leg and Tyrese's right. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than before.

We set off in the direction of the veterinary college in silence. At one point Dixon started fiddling with the radio.

"Hey, hand me one of those CDs." He told Michonne while he was messing with one of the nobs. Then, there was a voice. It was only for a split second, but it had been there.

"Was that a voice?" Bob asked. Dixon looked up at Michonne who's face was incredulous. Dixon kept turning the nob and we would here a voice here or there.

People.

For a second, I felt a trill of happiness, then I looked up and saw walkers on the road.

"Dixon!" I yelled. He jerked himself upright and yanked the wheel. Everything was chaos while the car slammed from right to left to right again as Dixon tried to swerve and miss the walkers in the road. Suddenly, the car stopped and within seconds we were being swarmed.

"Hold on to somethin'." Dixon commanded. He through his arm around Michonne's seat and I ducked down so he could see out the the back window. He reversed out of the small hoard of walkers around the car, but took out too many walkers and we ended up getting stuck.

"Run to the woods." Dixon said. "Don't stop for nothin'. Alright, go." Dixon pulled out his crossbow and pushed himself up through the sun roof. Michonne was out of the passenger seat quick as lightning. Bob was taking to long and Tyrese wasn't even moving. I pulled out my crowbar and launched myself through to the passenger seat and out the still open door.

I killed walker after walker. I heard gunshots behind me and saw that Bob was finally out of the car. Tyrese was getting swarmed. I felt someone grab my arm. I turned around ready with my crowbar but it was only Michonne. She pulled me after her while Dixon had Bob. We ran into the woods until we thought we were far enough away that we were safe. We stopped in a clearing and I used my crowbar as a crutch as I got my breath back.

There was rustling in the underbrush behind us. I lifted my crowbar and Dixon held up his crossbow. Two walkers stumbled out but before we could do anything, Tyrese burst through and killed one, then he dropped to his knees. I stepped forward and killed the second walker. After a few more seconds. Tyrese got to his feet and the five of us headed off to find a way to the veterinary college.


	39. Chapter 39

We stood on a tiny bridge that had been built over a small creek. We could have just as easily waded through the creek itself, but the bridge was sturdy and it was higher up so we could see if there was anything coming. Tyrese was kneeling by he edge of the water source washing and wringing out his bloody t-shirt. I stood with my arms, palm down, on the arm rest of the bridge watching the big man. Dixon, Michonne, and Bob were off to my right conversing and consulting a map. They were trying to find the best route to the college.

Something was wrong with Tyrese. He was beaten bloody a couple of days ago, so had been Rick. Mirror image injuries. I guess they had gotten into a fight around the time Tyrese had found Karen. Then there was the incident with the car. Freaking out and almost killing himself to take down as many walkers as he could. The hell was that about? Now he was wringing his shirt out like he was wringing a person's neck.

"Hey." I heard Dixon say. "We're movin'. There's a gas station up that way." I pushed myself off of the bridge and followed Michonne and Dixon. Bob called for Tyrese. Tyrese said something back but I couldn't make it out. Dixon and Michonne were a ways ahead of me chatting about something he had picked up off the ground. I looked back at Ty and Bob then back up to Dixon and Michonne.

I trailed after the pair ahead of me and looked around. We had lost an entire night. The sick people at the prison, they could all be dead by now. They could still be hanging on. More could be sick. Everyone could be sick. Maybe that's what was making Tyrese so crazy. He probably thinks Sasha's dead. I shook my head and flung the thought out of my brain. There's no way Sasha's dead. No way. She's too tough. To be taken out by some microscopic organism with no consciousness? No way.

We finally made it to the gas station. There was a van but it looked like kudzu and other greenery covered the vehicle and the building itself. Dixon handed me one of his extra knives and the five of us started hacking at the wall of foliage, some of us hacking more aggressively than others. I stopped slicing and looked over at Tyrese. He was flailing his arms and his weapon like he was possessed. Suddenly, a walker fell out of the wall of greenery. Ty had it by the neck. I heard Michonne yelling at him, but it sounded like it was coming from the other side of a tunnel. A couple more walkers fell and I stabbed one while Bob shot the one Tyrese was latched onto and Michonne killed the third.

For a moment, the five of us stood silent, then Dixon took initiative and took Bob inside to find supplies. I helped Michonne and Tyrese clear out more of the foliage. We hacked our way through the vines and managed to get the van out. Dixon and Bob came back out and Dixon started working on the car, trying to start the engine from under the steering wheel, checking the engine itself. I stood off to the side and watched the other four work. Finally, the car started an we were on our way.

We broke into the veterinary college, Dixon and Michonne in front, Bob in the middle, Tyrese and I holding up the back. We made our way to the most likely place to find medicine and Bob got to work.

"Anything ending with 'cillin' or 'cin,' grab it." Bob was saying. "It'll be tricky, but dissolving the pills in the IVs will help us make up for lost time. Put the meds straight into the blood stream." Michonne, Bob, and I grabbed bottle that met the requirements and tucked them in to a couple of bags. Just as we finished, Dixon and Tyrese came back from searching for other supplies.

"Got it?" Dixon asked.

"Yeah." I said. "Everything."

Dixon nodded. "Good, let's go." And just like that we were heading back to the prison. We quietly made our way down the hall. At one point, Dixon looked into a room through the window. There were walkers. They saw the light from Dixon's flashlight and they started to follow us. Suddenly, there was a swarm of walkers coming right at us.

"Go!" Dixon called. We ran back down the hall and into a side room. Dixon shut the door behind us and he, Bob, and I leaned against it, trying to keep the walkers out.

"There." Michonne said. She had scouted out the rest of the room. The walker came out of nowhere. Tyrese dispatched it and I heard walkers lung against a door and chain. Dixon took my elbow and pulled me roughly away from the door and down to the end of the room. I tore my arm out of his grasp and glared at him. The hell was that about?

"How many are in there?" Dixon asked.

"No way to tell." Michonne replied. It was a chained door that lead to a stairwell, and there were walkers on the other side. The door we had originally come through opened and walkers tumbled through.

"We can take them." Tyrese said.

"They're infected." Bob said. "We get their blood on us, breath it in, we could get infected. We didn't come all this way to get sick, too."

"How do we know that those ones in there ain't sick?" Dixon asked pointing toward the stairs.

"There's only one way to find out, and we're running out of time." I said. We broke the chain and killed the few walkers in our way, then lunged head first into the stairwell. We ran up the stairs, killing walkers left and right. Dixon kept turning and grabbing my arm, almost like he was making sure I was still behind him, and pulling me after him.

"There's no way out." Michonne said. We were trapped on a random floor with walkers ahead of us and behind us.

"Then we'll make one." Tyrese grunted as he picked up some unnameable object and tossed it out a widow. Tyrese was out on the platform first, then Michonne. Dixon pushed me toward the opening and made sure I was through first then he followed. Bob was the last one. He lost his footing and almost rolled off of the over hang, he bag was flung over the edge. Walkers swarmed and grabbed at the bag, but Bob refuse to let go. I was vaguely aware of what the others were doing, but suddenly, the bag was at my feet, and the top of a bottle was sticking out of the bag.

"That's not meds." I said, bending down and pulling out the liquor bottle. Dixon roughly grabbed the bottle out of my hands. He stared at it like he had some sort of vendetta against he bottle. He made to toss it away, but Bob stopped him with a word and a motion.

"Don't." Bob said, placing a hand on the gun at his hip. Dixon glared at him, then walked right up to the other man and got right into his face.

"I didn't want to hurt anybody." Bob defended himself.

"If you take a sip before those meds are in our people, I'll beat your ass." Dixon warned. He shoved the bottle into Bob's chest and walked away. We headed back to the van, which we had left a little ways away to avoid attracting walkers at the college with the noise, and Michonne, and Tyrese tried to work out a way back to the prison while Bob stood a little out side the small huddle and listened in. Dixon was sitting in the passenger seat with his feet on the dashboard. He was fiddling with some sort of rock. I walked over to him and snatched it out of his hand.

He didn't say anything, he just stared at me. I rolled the rock around between my palm and fingers. Dixon watched me move the rock, jasper, like he was trying to memorize my movements. I handed the stone back and climbed into the back of the van. Tyrese and Bob climbed in after me and Michonne took the driver's seat. She started the car and swung it around toward the prison. Soon, all the sick people were going to get the meds they were going to need and, hopefully, we were going to save more people than we lose.

 **Author's Note:** **Alright, so season 6 started back up again last night and I thought I would post a chapter or two so one day I can have a hope of catching up. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Ha** **ve a nice day!**


	40. Chapter 40

We made it back in the middle of the night. Carl and Rick met us at the gate and let us inside. Tyrese was the first one out of the car.

"Sasha?" He asked Rick. "How's Sasha?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry." Rick replied.

"Go, Ty, damn." I said shaking my head. Tyrese ran toward the prison to find his sister, whether she was alive or dead, there was no telling at this moment.

Bob carried one of the bags with medicine in it and I carried the other one. I followed him like a shadow, making sure he didn't even take a sip from that liquor bottle. He showed me how to dissolve the pills and administer shots. Bob handled Glenn. The first shot I ever gave, I gave to Sasha. Glenn and Sasha were the priority in my mind. I liked the others, but Glenn and Sasha. Especially since, when I went down to Sasha's cell, Tyrese was holding her in his arms. I gave her the shot in her arm and she smiled at me.

"You're gonna be okay now." I said, patting her on the shoulder. "Everything's going to be okay. Now, rest, doctor's orders."

"Bitch, you ain't a doctor." Sasha whispered.

I chuckled. "As far as this is concerned, I am." I touched Sasha's forehead and I could have sworn her fever went down a little. I got up and administered more shots and so did Bob.

"You should go rest." Bob told me.

"I probably should." I said nodding. "I can't remember the last time I slept."

"You didn't sleep while we were in the woods?" Bob asked, looking at me with concern in his eyes.

"Nope." I said. "I couldn't. Being out in the woods, it freaks me out, yah know? And now... I'm too wired. I want to make sure everyone makes it through the night, how can I sleep knowing that they may never wake up? Even after everything we went through to save them." I shook my head. "Go sleep, Bob, and don't you dare take a drink, okay?" I patted his shoulder and went up to visit with Maggie and Glenn. After a few minutes, they both fell asleep and I left the cell block. I went back to my own cell and laid down, but couldn't get to sleep.

The next day, Carl told me that Rick had kicked Carol out.

"Do you know why?" I asked Carl.

Carl shook his head. "He didn't tell me." Carl was heading toward the field to help his dad tend to the plants. I followed him out so I could have some fresh air. We walked up to Rick and I asked, "Why'd you kick Carol out?"

Rick looked at Carl and Carl took the hint and walked away toward one of the crops.

"She killed Karen and David." Rick explained in a low voice. "She didn't even care. She said she was doing it to save the rest of us... but they could have lived. I haven't told Daryl yet, but most everyone already knows 'cause they were here."

I nodded. "I'll tell him, you stay with Carl."

"Tyrese doesn't know either." Rick added.

"Okay no, you handle the big, pissed off, black man, I'll handle the redneck with the savior complex, yeah?"

Rick smiled and looked out toward the field. "Deal." I nodded and patted Rick on the shoulder and headed off to find Dixon. He was on the second floor of the cell block when I found him. He slung his crossbow onto his back and looked at me.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked. He didn't respond. "Carol's gone. Rick kicked her out 'cause she killed Karen and David. She didn't even feel bad, I guess."

Dixon stared at me. "He what?" Dixon's calmness was unnerving.

"He kicked her out." I repeated. I was being blunt, but when it came to bad news, it was always better to be blunt than to beat around the bush. "Carol's gone. But I'm sure she'll be fine, she's tough. We're all tough."

"And Ty, does he know?" Dixon asked.

"Uh, no, that's on Rick." I shook my head. "Ain't no way I'm telling that man that his lady friend was murdered by a woman he called a friend. Nuh-uh." I shook my head again.

Dixon and I fell silent and he studied his shoes.

"Hey, what was all that yesterday with the grabbing and pulling and the pushing?" I asked.

"I was grabbin' and pushin' and pullin' ev'rybody." Dixon defended.

"No, no not in the same way." I replied. "You were doing it like you wanted to make sure I, me, Mel, was always behind you. What was that about?"

"I-" Dixon started, but an explosion from the courtyard stopped him mid-sentence. We looked at each other with mirrored surprise and ran outside.

Beyond the fence, there was a line of people consisting of a tank, multiple cars, and the Governor.

"Tell the people that, if this goes bad, to get to the bus." Dixon told me. "Go." I nodded and ran back inside. This was going to go bad no matter what. The last thing I saw was Rick heading down to the fence, probably to talk to the Governor. I ran inside and warned everyone to get ready and to head out to the bus. I wasn't going to wait until things went south because they most certainly were going to. I made sure the kids got out first, Judith especially. I put the baby in a car seat we had found and gave her to Lizzie and Micah, Carol's adopted daughters.

"Get to the bus, don't stop for shit, just go." I told them. I left them to follow my instructions and started running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I made sure everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing, then I went back to my cell and grabbed my backpack. I had never left it unpacked, not for a single day. Some cans of food, some mediocre first aid supplies, a gun and ammo. Just as I took my crowbar and put it in my belt, I heard gun shots outside. I ran to the infirmary and started to get people and take them to the bus. Maggie ran in just then and grabbed Glenn.

"We have to go." Maggie yelled. I started ushering people outside and onto the bus.

"Where's Beth?" Maggie screamed after stepping foot on the bus. I didn't hear the reply but then Maggie jumped of the bus and started running. I watched her run to Sasha and Bob. I ran back into the prison for one last check. I couldn't in good conscience desert the prison without knowing that everyone had gotten out.

There was another explosion that rattled the building to its foundation. After a few minutes that felt more like hours, I ran back out of the prison to find... nothing.

Nothing but death and destruction.

 **Author's Note: Okay, a second chapter today, and maybe a third later. I feel like I'm on a roll and I don't want it to end. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	41. Chapter 41

*Mel's P.O.V.*

It was deep in the night and the darkness was absolute. My legs were weak and buckling. My lungs were on fire. My heart pounded like a kick drum. But still I ran. I couldn't stop. Running, pushing my body to its breaking point, was the only thing keeping me from thinking. If I though about what had happened, it would kill me.

For the first time since getting here, I was alone.

I was exhausted. I was in pain. And I was alone.

Finally, finally, I dropped, no longer able to keep running. Slowly, I fell asleep, too tired to see if I was safe, too depressed to care.

* * *

*Michonne's P.O.V.*

I had used defenseless walkers as a disguise before, I could do it again. I cut their arms off. I took off their jaws. I wrapped rope around their necks and lead them away with me. As I walked away from the prison, the place and the people I called home for some time now, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. I loved this place. I loved these people. But they must all be dead by now. Love was a dangerous thing, and if I let it open the door to grief, it would kill me just as easily as a walker or gun.

I happened to look down at just the right time to see Hershel's head. It was animate and moving. I studied the thing for a minute more before doing Hershel a last service. I ran my sword through his temple, and walked away.

* * *

*Carl's P.O.V.*

Judith was dead, and for all I knew, so was everyone else. At least I still had dad, right? Right? That's what I keep telling myself. At least I still have dad. Well, Dad could barely stand. He was limping along, wheezing like an old man. He was all kinds of bloody and hurt. But he just had to be the leader, right? Even when it was just the two of us, he had to be the boss even though he could barely stand.

He wanted to go into that bar by himself. If I had let him, he'd be dead. He yelled at me for using that bullet. Hey, at least I saved his life, right? I can take care of myself, and that's what he can't understand. I can take care of myself. But he's still my dad. Mom always said he was stubborn as a bull.

* * *

*Beth's P.O.V.*

Daddy was dead. He was dead. Then all there was was running and shooting and blood. It was just me and Daryl and walkers. The prison was gone. Maggie was gone. Daddy was gone. We ran until we couldn't run anymore. We collapsed in a field and caught our breath. I didn't know Daryl well. He was a good hunter, I knew that. He was a good person, but I didn't know him.

As we laid in the field, I thought of Daddy. I thought of our lives and how good it was at the prison. I cursed the Governor. I cursed him and everything he stood for and everything he did. Then a thought came. Maybe we weren't the only ones. Maybe it wasn't just me and Daryl who made it out. Glenn and Maggie could take care of themselves. Rick and Michonne, too. Maybe we weren't the only ones still alive.

* * *

*Daryl's P.O.V*

I had wanted to save Mel, but she ran back into the prison. But I couldn't wait for Mel, even though it hurt like hell to leave her. I had to save someone, though. So I saved Beth, more for me, and maybe Hershel, than for Beth. We ran and fought until we couldn't run anymore. Once we were laying down and catching our breath, there was no choice but to think.

I thought about Mel, and what I was about to tell her back at the prison before the Governor showed up. I was going to tell her that I hated it when she went on runs. I hated it. She'd been going on runs with Glenn for a while, but recently, I couldn't stand it. It was like she had a death wish or something. And all those times she wandered through the prison with the walkers on the loose. I hoped she with someone. Anyone. One of ours, one of the Woodbury folks. Some one.

She couldn't survive on her own.

* * *

*Tyrese's P.O.V.*

I had spent the last couple of days trying to get back to Sasha, and now she was gone and so was the prison. It was safe there. But now... God knew if Sasha was alive, but I couldn't focus on that. I had three little girls to take care of. Judith, Lizzie, and Micah. Whatever happened next, they were counting on me to keep them safe. Rick could have gotten out, Carol, too. I had to keep those girls safe, not just for me, but for them. Maybe, in the process of looking for other survivors, I'll find Sasha. I am going to look for others. They may need help, and as much as I would like to care for these kids, I can't do it alone, especially with a baby that cries every four hours.

No, we were going to need help, and the only way to get help was to find it. On the other hand, the girls were helpful. They were tough. They do things differently, but they get the job done. That's all I could have asked for right now.

* * *

*Carol's P.O.V.*

I understand why he did it. He couldn't live with a murderer. But he didn't understand why _I_ did it. Karen and David, they were never going to live. They were going to die and they were going to infect everyone else. I had to. I had to kill them, for my girls, for everyone. But it didn't help. The illness spread anyway. Lizzie had it, and then I didn't think I would have ever found out what had happened. At least, until I saw the smoke.

There was smoke billowing up from the prison when I got there. It was a grave yard, living and dead laying side by side. I started looking for my girls. I walked through the woods looking and hoping to find them. What I found were my girls and Judith... and Tyrese. I could barely look him in the eye as he embraced me. But I still couldn't bring myself to regret what I did to Karen and David, I just regretted the pain he was going to go through when he finds out it was me who killed them.

* * *

*Maggie's P.O.V.*

Glenn got out. Daddy was dead. Beth may be dead, too. But Glenn got out. I knew which way the bus went, I saw it leave. Bob wasn't going to die from his gun shot wound and all that adrenaline must have pushed the medicine through Sasha, kicking the illness to he curb. And Glenn got out. That was the only thing I was focusing on. We got out, and so had Glenn. He had been on the bus

I went the direction the bus had gone. I was going to find it. I had wanted Sasha and Bob to stay. I had told them that if they stayed, I'd come back and find them. And I'd have Glenn. But Bob insisted on coming with his bounding optimism, and Sasha had no choice but to follow. I didn't know if anyone else got out, but Glenn did, and I held onto that with every fiber of my being. I hadn't lost everything. I still had Glenn, I just had to find him.

* * *

*Sasha's P.O.V.*

I just wanted to feel the sun. For a second there, I never thought I'd feel it again. Instead I got run out of my home and separated from my family. I didn't know if Tyrese got out. I didn't know if anyone got out, but there was no point in wallowing. We had to find food, shelter. We had to survive. Starting with Bob. I stitched up his bullet wound and, luckily, it had stopped bleeding. Bob and his endless optimism. How could he be so okay with what had just happened. I may not be showing it, but I was still reeling. There's no way, no way in hell, I would be as relaxed and chill as Bob was.

No, I wanted to find my brother, but I had to survive long enough first. It seemed like I was the only person in this trio of people who had her priorities straight. But if there is a bright side to all of this, it's that I felt better. Better than I had felt for the last couple of days. And that was going to make the most difference.

* * *

*Bob's P.O.V.*

The fall of this group was inevitable. I'd been in two other groups and both had failed. The difference? I wasn't alone this time, and that was cause for celebration. I wasn't alone this time. Yeah, I was worried about everyone else, but they were tough. We all had to be tough in order to live in a world like this. The group that started that big one at the prison, the main group, it was hard to believe that none of them got out. They were probably the toughest out of everyone in that place. Sasha's brother must have made it out. Glenn made it out. Rick, Daryl, Michonne, everyone else, they got out.

I got out, and I'm not alone this time.

* * *

*Glenn's P.O.V.*

I woke up alone. I was on the cat walk and below me was a hoard of walkers. I called out for Maggie, but she didn't come. I stood up and called for her again, but again there was no answer. She got out, I told myself. I put on the riot gear, I packed a bag, grabbed the picture of Maggie I had in my cell. I was going to find her because she got out. I had gone back in to find her but instead I lost her.

As I was leaving, I met another girl. I guess she had been with the Governor because I hadn't seen her in the prison before. I needed her help, I didn't particularly want it, but I needed it. No one can survive by themselves, not anymore.

 **Author's Note: I've been waiting for this part of season four since I started this story. I had been playing around with different ideas for what happens to Mel after the prison but I decided to have her end up alone. I don't really like writing P.O.V.s, but because for the second half of season four everyone was split up, I think I'm going to have a few, just until the gang gets back together. Alrighty, leave a review and have a nice day!**


	42. Chapter 42

*Mel's P.O.V."

I was very, absolutely, 100% fucked. I didn't know how to hunt, I didn't know how to forage, I didn't know how to make traps. I didn't know shit. All that stuff had been done for me. I knew how to kill walkers, but I still wasn't very good at that, not in this kind of situation.

I had woken up sore and emotionally exhausted alone in the woods. But that had been days, maybe even weeks ago. I wasn't sure how much time had passed since the Fall of Prison Falls, as I had dubbed it. I was just getting around to suggesting that we name the prison, just so we didn't have to call it "The Prison" all the time. I was going to suggest that we call it Prison Falls. No idea where the "Falls" part came from, but it makes it sound like a legitimate place.

I was sitting in a small clearing and I cracked open one of the four cans of cranberry sauce I had had and ate only about a quarter. I had started out with four and I was down to this one. It was hard living off of water and four cans of cranberry sauce, but I made it work for how ever long I had been out here. Again, I couldn't hunt to save my life. I paused at that thought. I _legitimately_ couldn't hunt to _actually_ save my life. I laughed at the absurdity of the thought, and I attracted a walker in the process.

It was behind me and I was terrified to look. I was always terrified of walkers, but since Prison Falls, I was scared to look and see someone I knew and, more importantly, loved, but I couldn't just sit and do nothing. I had swiped a couple of knives which I kept on either hip for emergencies, my go-to weapon was still my crowbar, but the knives were easier when there was just one or two walkers. I was saving the gun and ammo for when I really needed it.

I lunged at the walker and stabbed it in the head. I didn't know who it was, which made it easier. The knife got stuck in its head and I wasn't strong enough to pull it back out, so instead I let the walker take it with it. There were more walkers coming but they were far enough away that I could pull the knife back out of the walker's head and pack up my backpack. If there were more than maybe four walkers, I ran. I couldn't handle more than five at one time at the most.

I ran and ran until I reached train tracks. I finally stopped, out in the open so I had escape routes, and listened for walkers. I guess I had left them far behind me.

It really wasn't good to exert yourself when you were so weak. The fringes of my eyesight got blurry like I was looking through a tunnel. I swayed a little but managed to stay on my feet. I tried to gather myself enough to make a plan, plans were always a good idea, when I heard people behind me. Not walkers, people.

"You alright little girl?" A gruff man's voice asked. I slowly turned around. It was a group of maybe six grown men. The obvious leader was standing just a little closer to me. They looked like a biker gang, the leader had a full beard and they were all clad in leather or plaid. One of them had a bow and arrows. In school we had learned about Fight or Flight response. I had been so caught up trying to survive that I hadn't stopped to think what my response. My response to walkers was easy, kill them unless there were too many of them, but people... The muscles in my legs started to tingle. I wanted to run but I was half starved and exhausted to the point of passing out. I was at their mercy, and they didn't look like good guys.

The men watched me the way vultures watched a dying animal.

Then the vultures descended.

* * *

Every part of my body hurt. I felt blood on my face where I had been punched in the nose. My arms and legs were even more sore than they had been because of all the fighting I did. The headache, which was working it's way from the back to the front, was rivaled in pain intensity only by the pain between my legs.

I heard walkers in the distance and knew I needed to get up. I _had_ to get up. They had left me to die but I wasn't going to give them that satisfaction. Even if I never saw them again, which I severely hoped I wouldn't, I was going to live just to spite them.

Mom had always said the important part about getting knocked down was getting back up. So, I got up. The walkers were coming and the sun was setting. I needed to get somewhere safe. Luckily, those men hadn't taken my backpack or anything inside. They probably thought I had tampons and some other stupid girl shit.

My body protested the more I moved and I knew that when I finally hunkered down to sleep, the next day it was going to hurt like hell. It was hard to imagine that I was going to be in more pain than I was right know, but I knew it really was going to get worse. How many time had I skipped workouts back home and woken up the day after a particularly rough couple of hours sore as fuck?

As I made my way through the woods, I had to stop repeatedly. I told myself it was to listen for walkers, but really it was because my head started to hurt like crazy and my legs wanted to go to sleep. But I kept going. I had to keep going. I had to find somewhere safe to pass out. If I passed out anywhere out here, I was going to die, and I wasn't about to die lying down, figuratively or literally.

The sun had set hours ago and the moon was in the middle of the sky. The night was half over and I was still up. I hadn't found a safe place yet. I finally had to sit down semi-permanently because my limbs felt like they were going to fall off. My eyes fluttered shut and I focused on my breathing to distract me from the ache in my bones. In through my nose, out through my mouth. Breath in deep, hold, let it out slow.

Then I heard a scream.

My eyes popped open and I looked toward the source of the scream. I got up, despite the almost perceptible screams of agony from my cells, and made my way toward the scream. I burst through the trees and onto a road. I looked around but there was no one around. I had gotten there too late. I turned left and started heading that way. I noticed a bag in the road, its contents spilled out everywhere. I got closer to it and noticed that it was Beth's bag. I looked around, but the road was empty. Maybe it was Beth I heard scream. Where ever she was now, it wasn't here. I stamped my foot. I was so close. I was _so close_ to people I knew and loved and I had missed them because my head hurt?

No. I wasn't a baby.

I studied my surroundings more carefully and saw a house in the distance. I made my way toward it. I knocked on the porch and small group of walkers stumbled out. I wasn't a baby. Not anymore. I killed the group of walkers, six I realized later, and went into the house. There were more dead and that's when I noticed the arrows. There were green bolts lodged in a couple of walkers. I pulled them out and proceeded to clean them. Beth had been and here and so had Dixon. Maybe they had been here together. They obviously had to leave in a hurry and I had missed them. When I found them, Dixon was going to want his arrows back. I put the bolts in my backpack and shut and locked the front door and sweeping the house for more walkers. There weren't any. I had found a bed in the upstairs that looked slept in and food in the kitchen and cupboards.

I dropped my backpack on the floor of the bedroom, laid down on the bed, and fell asleep.

 **Author's Note: Alright, here's the next chapter in Mel's story. I was really conflicted about what happens to Mel in this chapter, but I feel that it's important for her to grow. I didn't feel that, in Mel's situation, she was going to grow as a person the way I wanted her to unless something really bad happened. Please leave a review with questions, comments, concerns, I really love seeing what you guys think, and please have a nice day!**


	43. Chapter 43

*Daryl's P.O.V."

It was different being out here with just Beth. I didn't even know why she stuck around after what I did back at that damn shack. But she did stick around, and I was happy that I wasn't alone. I kept think about Mel and how Beth reminded me of her. They were both annoyingly cheerful and some how Beth started getting a mouth on her a little.

We were walking through the forest and I was showing Beth how to track. She already knew how to use the crossbow. The thing was heavy but Beth was swinging it around like she'd been doing it her whole life.

"The pattern's zigzag." Beth commented looking down at the ground. "It's a walker." She turned to look at me with a big smile on her face.

"Or a drunk." I replied. She rolled her eyes.

"Why can't you just say I'm getting good at this?" Beth asked turning around and holding up the crossbow. "Soon enough I'm not gonna need you anymore Daryl Dixon." She continued following the trail. I watched her for a second then picked up the pace. It was things like that one comment that made me... I don't know, sad? I don't know. I wasn't good at the feelings thing. All I knew is that if Beth left, I'd miss her, but I wasn't sure if I'd miss _her_ , or the fact that if she's here I'm not alone, or that she reminds me of Mel.

We came up to a small clearing and in the middle of it was a walker. Beth looked at me.

"That one?" She asked. I nodded.

"Careful." I warned. She nodded and stepped silently into the clearing. After a few step I heard the clank of a trap and Beth fell sideways. The walker heard and turned around. Beth held up the crossbow and pulled the trigger. The bolt lodged itself into the walker's cheek. I rushed forward, pulled out my knife, and stabbed the bastard in the head. I rushed over to Beth and unclasped the trap from her ankle.

"Can you move it?" I asked. Beth wiggled her ankle around.

"Yeah." She replied but I could tell that it hurt.

"Can you walk?"

"Mmhmm." Beth nodded. I stood up and helped her to her feet. When she was standing, I went over and pulled the bolt out of the walker's face. I didn't have too many and I had to save the ones I did. Beth and I started walking again. Soon enough, we made it to a funeral home, thing with tombstones out front. I carried Beth to the house because her ankle was hurting too bad to walk. It felt awkward carrying her, luckily I had to put her down to get inside the house. No way was I carrying her _inside_. We made sure the house was clear then went looking for something to wrap Beth's ankle in.

We went downstairs and found a couple of corpses on metal tables.

I wrinkled my nose. "Someone ran outta dolls." I turned and started rummaging through the cabinets.

"I think it's beautiful." Beth commented. "Someone cared enough about them to do right by them. It's nice." Beth stressed the last sentence like trying to make sure it got through my thick skull. I found wrap and motioned for Beth to get up on the counter. I wrapped her ankle without a word then we moved upstairs to look for supplies. We looked through the cabinets in the kitchen and found food.

"There's not a speck of dust on this." I said holding a can up to look at it. "It's clean. The whole house is."

"Maybe someone lives here." Beth said.

I looked at her. "Okay, we'll take some of it and leave the rest." I said. She was gonna insist that we not take it all, I just beat her to the punch.

"I knew it." Beth said smiling.

"Knew what?" I asked taking a jar of jelly off the shelf and opening it up.

"You're a good guy underneath all that." Beth kept smiling. I stuck my fingers into the jar and pulled out a lump of jelly and ate it.

"You're also really gross." Beth wrinkled her nose and grabbed a jar of peanut butter.

"I call the pigs feet." I told her.

"Whatever you want, I ain't eating them." Beth laughed.

* * *

Later that night, Beth was sitting at the piano in the wake room. There was still a casket on a table at the front of the room. I made my way over to it and hopped inside.

"Gross!" Beth said.

"What?" I said. "It's the most comfortable bed I've had in years." I made myself comfortable and looked at her. "Don't stop." She'd been singing before I walked in.

"I thought my singing annoyed you." Beth retorted.

"It ain't no jukebox." I admitted. "But it's better than nothing."

I lay in silence while she played a couple of songs and sang, then Beth turned to me.

"Mel sings, too, does her singing annoy you, too?" She asked. I glared at her. "Oh c'mon, Daryl, I'm not blind. You two like each other. Everyone else thinks you hate each other 'cause she annoys you most out of everyone. It's 'cause you two are so different, but that's what I think makes it good."

I paused, then said, "She's probably dead."

"Don't say that." Beth scolded. "We don't know if anyone's dead."

"We don't know if they're alive, neither." I replied quietly.

"If Mel was dead, would you be sad? Sadder than if it was anyone else?"

I paused again. "Yeah, I guess." I admitted. Again, I wasn't good at the feelings thing. "Can we stop talkin' 'bout this?"

"Yeah." Beth turned back to the piano. "She's not dead. I don't think anyone's dead. We'll see them again."

"Whatever you say, blondie." I settled back in the casket and looked up at the ceiling.

I severely hoped Beth was right about Mel and everyone else being alive still. I really, truly hoped. And that scared me.

 **Author's Note: Okay, so here's a P.O.V. and I think I got Daryl's voice right but I'm not sure. Anyway, I like it. There may be a couple more before I continue Mel's story just because I'm not 100% sure what I want to happen to her next. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	44. Chapter 44

*Maggie's P.O.V."

Glenn. That's all I could think about. Glenn. He hadn't been on the bus which meant there was still a chance he was alive.

Sasha said we needed a plan, well I had a plan, and that plan was to get to Terminus. Either Glenn was there, or he was getting there.

I didn't know if Beth was alive, and Daddy definitely wasn't, but I hoped Glenn still was. Sasha was annoyingly skeptical about Glenn's fate, and ours, but I trusted our ability to survive, and Glenn's ability, too. If he was alive, he'd go to Terminus.

I left a note drawn in the dirt asking Sasha and Bob not to risk their lives for me, then I headed down to the train tracks and started toward Terminus.

I finally passed another Terminus sign and smiled to myself. I was going the right way. I wasn't sure if I was close or not, but I was going the right way. The sign was attached to a shed and as I stared at the blank white side I got an idea. I pulled out my knife and stepped up to the side. I started to etch into the paint when I heard the sound of a walker. I turned around, and got another idea. I pushed the walker and stabbed it in the head while it was on the ground, then I cut open its stomach and used it's blood to write on the side of the shed, "Glenn, go to Terminus, Maggie." I wanted to be especially sure that Glenn was going the same way I was.

I kept walking and walking. When night fell, I hid in the woods and set up camp. I got maybe four or five hours of sleep, but I didn't want to sleep too long. I needed to find Glenn.

At every Terminus sign, I found a walker and left the same note, "Glenn, go to Terminus, Maggie." As I was getting ready to write another note, three walkers shambled up. I tried to kill them, but I was exhausted. Once they were dead, I laid down on the ground and sat in thought. Sasha didn't think Glenn was alive. I had heard her talking to Bob about him. But she was wrong, he was alive. That's when I realized that I couldn't do this alone. I couldn't survive alone. I needed people. So I waited for Sasha.

Before long, I dozed off. Dangerous, I knew, but I couldn't help it. Next thing I knew, I heard shattering glass. I gasped and sat bolt upright. I looked around and saw more walkers coming. I grabbed the closest thing I could find and started swinging. I heard someone call my name and when I looked, it was Sasha. We killed all the walkers and ended up back to back.

"What happened?" Sasha asked.

"Found more walkers than I wanted." I replied. "I heard what you said back at the camp. About Glenn most likely bein' dead and all. But you're wrong. He's alive." I turned around to look at my friend. "Where's Bob?"

"Out looking for you." Sasha replied with a firm lip. "What were you doing here?"

"Basically, I was waiting for you." I replied. "When I said I couldn't ask you to risk your lives, it turns out I actually can, because the outcome will be worth it."

Sasha stood for a minute in thought. "Then I guess we're gonna have to catch up to Bob." Sasha finally said. I smiled and the two of us kept following the tracks. After a while, we did find Bob. Bob and his relentless optimism. I smiled and hugged him and the three of us continued our path to Terminus. We amended the notes on the Terminus signs, adding "Sasha and Bob" to the bottom so he knew I wasn't alone.

* * *

*Glenn's P.O.V.*

I found Maggie's notes. She was alive. _She was alive._ Abraham thought it was pointless to go after her, but I had to find her. I had to. After a couple of days, we came up to a tunnel. The note beside the mouth was still fresh. Sasha, Maggie, and Bob couldn't be too far ahead.

"Okay, up and over." Abraham said.

"No, if Maggie walked through, I'm walking through." I said. Maggie was in there, if not on the other side already.

"Do you hear that?" Abraham asked gesturing into the tunnel. I listened and there was the unmistakable sound of walkers. "Those are reanimated corpses. I cannot verify Eugene's safety. If you go in, you go in alone."

"Not alone." Tara said stepping up beside me. I looked at her. Despite knowing that she had been on the Governor's side when the prison got over run, I liked Tara. I couldn't blame her for what the Governor did, it wasn't her fault. She didn't know who he was. I nodded and turned back to Abraham. He handed us some ammo.

"No, you guys are gonna need it to get to Washington." I insisted, not wanting to take it.

"Take it." Abraham insisted in return. I took the ammo and tucked it into my backpack. Tara and I said our goodbyes and Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita headed off back the way we came. I looked at Tara and she looked back at me, then we stepped into the tunnel.

 **Author's Note: Sorry** **it took me so long to post this week, I'm usually pretty good at posting on Monday's after the second half of season six started up again, but you know, we plan, God laughs right? Anyway, I'm going to post a couple more chapters today to make up for it. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	45. Chapter 45

*Carl's P.O.V."

When Michonne showed up, I was excited to say the least. Someone else other than Dad and me had made it out. To be honest, Michonne had to be my best friend, except maybe Mel, but Mel was more like a sister, and she was probably dead.

Dad wasn't healed enough to go on a run so I was going with Michonne. Dad saw us out and we left him on the porch of the house we were staying in.

The first house we raided didn't really have anything. I took what I thought was important and met Michonne outside. I had made a comment about Judith earlier and it had brought me down. Judy was dead, and she didn't deserve to be.

"Did you find anything?" Michonne asked. I didn't say anything. "Comic books? Candy bars? Crazy cheese?"

"What?" I looked at her.

Michonne pulled out a white can from her bag. "Still sealed and everything." She smiled at me. "I'll let you have a taste if you're nice."

I shrugged and kept walking.

"Are you okay?" Michonne asked.

"Yeah."

"You don't seem okay."

"I'm just... tired." I lied. Michonne opened the can of Crazy Cheese and squirted a bunch into her mouth. She was trying to make me laugh, but I wasn't in the mood.

"I'm not good at making kids your age laugh." Michonne admitted while she banged on the door of another house. "Toddlers find me funny. Two... three year olds." She added almost as an after thought.

"Toddlers?" I asked. What brought toddlers up?

"I had a three year old son." Michonne said with an almost smile. She opened the door to the house and stepped inside.

"You had a son?" I asked as I followed her. "Why didn't you tell me? Were you married? Where is he? What was his name?"

Michonne turned to me. "I'll answer your questions. But... only one question per room and... and only after we've cleared it." She moved away looking for food, water, and batteries, in that order. I set about looking for supplies. I wanted to know more about Michonne and this was probably the only way I was going to find anything out.

I cleared the living room and headed into the dining room. "So what was your son's name?"

"After we cleared a room." Michonne replied.

"Technically, these are two separate rooms, and we already cleared that one." I looked at Michonne.

"Andre. Andre Anthony." She said, then she walked into the hallway.

"Does this hallway count as a room?" I asked, following her.

"If you can find something we can use." Michonne said. She was looking at all the paintings on the walls. I looked around but couldn't find anything except a wrapped up painting. I picked it up and took it to Michonne.

"This is the only thing I could find." I said. "This place is pretty clean."

"Okay, what do you want to know now?" Michonne asked.

"When did it happen?" I studied Michonne's reaction. I didn't want to make her sad, not in the same way I was sad about Judith.

"Just after..." She started but then stopped. I nodded, getting what she wasn't saying.

"Why didn't you tell my dad?" I asked.

"I haven't told anyone. Not a single person. Until now." Michonne looked at me.

"I won't tell anyone." I said. "It's not my secret to tell."

"It's not really a secret." Michonne defended.

"Kind of, though, because you never told anyone until now." I replied. "Either way, I won't tell, that's for you to do." I turned and started on another room. I couldn't believe that Michonne had had a kid and had never told us. But then again, she probably feels the same way about her kid that Dad and me feel about Judith. I heard Michonne open the painting then head back down the hallway. I made my way through a couple more rooms before finding Michonne in a room at the end of the hall.

"Wha-" I started then Michonne interrupted me.

"A dog, it was a dog." But we both new she was lying.

"There was a baby in there." I said. Michonne and I stood in silence for a little bit.

"Dad let me name her." I told Michonne. "Judith, after my second grade teacher." I paused. "Maybe Judy and Andre are together somewhere. At least, I hope they are. Somewhere better than here. This isn't a place for babies." I looked down at my boots. I wasn't sure if I believe that they were together or in heaven, but I knew for sure that they were better off wherever they were because it wasn't here.

 **A** **uthor's Note: Okay, this is the last P.O.V., next it's going to be Mel for a while. I loved this scene between Michonne and Carl, but I don't like this chapter. I'm pretty tired, school's running me ragged, but I'm going to post another chapter today. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	46. Chapter 46

*Mel's P.O.V."

As I swam up into consciousness, my body ached. I knew it was going to hurt worse after I slept. Then I sat bolt upright, despite the incessant protest of all my nerve endings. How long had I been asleep? Oh, shit. I made myself ignore the soreness and ache in my bones and stand up. I looked out a window and the sun hung low in the sky. It was nightfall. I was better off staying here one more night than going out there in the dark. I supposed I had only been asleep for one day; that when I got to this house it must have been past midnight or so and that today was the same day.

With a groan, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked around the house. A tour of the first floor told me it hadn't been a house before, but a mortuary. I stared at the casket on the other side of one of the rooms thinking about the last time I had been in a mortuary. The casket had been much smaller. And red, because that was Jackson's favorite color.

I sighed and moved into the kitchen to take stock of the food. As I stepped, I kicked something across the floor. I dropped my backpack and got down on my knees. I looked around and saw a miniature wooden crossbow under the table. I reached over, picked it up, and held it in my hands. It was the Christmas present I had given Dixon after Hershel's farm. He kept it. Staring at the wooden crossbow, I couldn't help but feel... weird. I couldn't identify what I was feeling. It was just... weird. I tucked the crossbow in one of the side pockets of my backpack and stood back up with another groan. My muscles loosed the more I moved, but the more I moved the more I wanted to stop moving.

I rummaged through the cupboards and found cans of all kinds of vegetables, bottles of pop, jars of jelly and pigs feet. I picked up a can of sweet corn and sat down at the table with a contented sigh. Sweet corn was my favorite. I ate the whole can even though my brain was telling me not to. There were scattered bottle of water on the floor and I picked one up and drank from it, but I didn't drink the whole thing, water was precious. Maybe even more precious than food.

The sun was really starting to set casting weird shadows all over the kitchen. I got up from the table and walked out onto the porch and looked for walkers. It was walker free all around the house so I locked the doors and windows and closed all the blinds and curtains. I walked into the wake room and sat down at the piano. I hit a few keys and determined that the piano needed to be tuned, but that it would suffice for tonight. I spent the rest of the night playing songs from _The Phantom of the Opera_ and some of my personal favorite Irish lullabies that Mom and Dad would sing to me when I was little and terrified of thunderstorms.

How stupid I had been for being scared of thunderstorms.

After a while, I noticed that the room started to brighten more than the candles I had stationed all over the place. I stood up and looked out the window and saw that the sun was rising. I quickly ran back out to the road and grabbed Beth's bag. I dumped out the contents and ran back into the house. I packed six cans of sweet corn into Beth's back and bottles of water into my backpack. I slung Beth's bag across my chest and my backpack over my shoulders. I moved around the kitchen a little to make sure I still had full mobility. I had to shift Beth's bag a little so I could reach my knives and crowbar more easily, then I left the house in search of Dixon.

He was alive as of yesterday, meaning he was probably still alive today. And I was going to find him.

* * *

The sun had just gone down and if I squinted, I could see a light flickering in the distance. Light meant people. I picked up the pace despite the protest in my lungs, heart, and legs and headed toward the fire. As I got closer, I saw a car first, then I saw that the fire belonged to Rick and Michonne.

 _Rick and Michonne._

They were alive. Carl, too, maybe, and Judith.

I was only a few yards away when decided I was going to call out, but vultures flew out of the woods and circled Rick and Michonne. There had been six of them last I saw, but now there were five. I ducked into the woods to my left before one of them saw me. I crept as quietly through the woods as I could until I was behind the small camp. I dropped my bags on the ground and as I pulled the gun out of my backpack I listened to the big grey vulture holding a gun to Rick's head.

"You killed our friend, Lou, can't forgive that." The vulture said. "Strangled him in a bathroom." I looked around and saw another vulture holding a gun to Michonne's head and a fat vulture standing by the car that Carl must have been in. There were two more on the other side of the circle, ready to pounce.

"Hold up." Another man said. I knew that voice. Dixon stepped out of the shadows and into the middle of the circle. My heart leapt into my throat.

"Say your piece, Daryl." The grey vulture said.

"You're gonna let these people go." Dixon said. "They're good people."

The grey vulture shook his head. "Now that, is a lie." Then two of the vultures descended upon my redneck by first punching him in the gut to bring him to the ground. Then they proceeded to beat the shit out of him. I held up my gun, ready to shoot the two vultures beating my redneck when they moved behind the car and I no longer had a shot.

"We're gonna take your girl," The grey man was telling Rick. "then we're going to take your son, then I'm gonna shoot you to finish it all off." I watched as the fat vulture pulled Carl out of the car and throw him on the ground. He would be the first, I decided. The fat vulture would be the first person I shoot. I lifted my arms and took aim just as another shot rang out. I looked over and saw the grey vulture stumbling backward. I watched for a second as he kicked Rick in the stomach. I turned my attention back to the fat vulture and took aim. I steadied hands and took a deep breath, upon exhale, I pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight through the vulture's skull and he slumped forward.

I sat for a second, the fact that I had actually just killed a person punched my soul.

Then I got over it.

 _He deserved it._ I told myself. _He deserved to die. For what he did to me. For what he was going to do to Carl. For what he could possibly do to other people in the future. Yes, he deserved to die._

All the people in the camp stopped, having no idea where the shot had come from. I watched Carl struggle out from under the fat vulture as I turned my gun toward the vulture that still held a gun to Michonne's head, aimed, and fired another shot.

 _He deserved it._

This bullet went through his eye and he dropped like a stone. Rick, who was being held by the grey vulture in a body lock, took advantage of the momentary stillness and bit into the vulture's neck and tore off a piece.

 _He deserved it._

Michonne also took advantage and picked up the dropped gun and shot the two vulture who had been beating my redneck.

 _They deserved it._

I decided that that was as good a time as any to make my presence known. I tucked my gun into the back of my waistband, picked up my bags, and walked out of the woods.

 _They all deserved it. They all deserved to die._

 **Author's Note: Okay, here's the promised Mel P.O.V. So what did you guys think? Did you think that Mel should have reacted more when she killed those two guys? Do you think she reacted appropriately, especially with all the justifications afterward of them deserving it? Do you think she was maybe being too cold? I'd love to hear what you guys think, so please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	47. Chapter 47

Carl was the first person to notice me.

"Mel!" He cried. He finally managed to craw out from under the fat vulture and ran over to me.

"Hey little buddy." I said hugging him. He hugged me back and we walked over to the others, my arm on his shoulders and his around my waist.

"Mel." Rick said gruffly, blood dripping down his beard.

"Are you a walker?" I asked him. "'Cause if you are, I mean, we won't be okay with it, but ya know, you can tell us." I nodded vigorously.

"No, I'm not a walker." Rick said quietly, looking from me to Carl to the grey vulture on the ground.

"Did you...?" Michonne started, looking over to where Carl had almost been raped.

"Yeah." I said. Then I gestured to the other one. "That one, too."

"You okay?" Michonne moved so she could look into my face.

"I'm fine." I replied. "Are Rick and Dixon okay, is the question." I looked at Rick. Dixon finally came up from behind the car and looked at me.

"You okay?" He asked me. Dumbass.

"What'd I just say?" I looked down at Carl. He laughed. "Are _you_ okay, Dixon? You're the one who got your ass handed to you on a silver platter." Then as an after thought I added, "Rick's a walker, FYI."

"I'm not a walker." Rick said, but a smile played on his still bloody lips.

"No, you are, you're just lying to yourself." I said smiling a little. Dixon pulled a bandanna and handed it to Rick. Rick took it and wiped his face.

"C'mon." I told Carl. "Back to bed... or car seat."

"You expect me to sleep after all that?" Carl asked incredulously. "Do you know what that guy was gonna do to me?"

"Yeah, bud, I do." I said quietly.

"I'm not even tired." Carl protested.

"You're more tired that you think." I removed my arm from his shoulder and moved toward the car.

"I'm gonna have nightmares!" Carl added.

"You're too tired to have nightmares." I opened the passenger side door and held it open.

"I just said I wasn't tired." Carl muttered as he crawled into the passenger seat and I shut the door behind him. A couple minutes later and he was out like a light.

"Thanks." Rick said. I nodded in response. I picked up my back back and pulled out the arrows and handed them to Dixon.

"Found these." I explained. "In that mortuary? I was so close I could have spit on you and Beth, but I missed you, what happened?"

"How'd you know Beth was there?" Dixon asked. I held up Beth's bag. "Oh. Yeah, she's gone." He looked down at his boots.

"What do you mean gone?" Michonne asked.

"Just... gone." Dixon shrugged. "Not dead, just..." He trailed off.

"And you?" Michonne asked me. "What happened to you?"

"Later." I replied. "We have to get rid of these guys." Michonne nodded and she, Rick, Dixon, and I dragged the bodies into the woods and away from camp. Rick stabbed them all in the head, just in case, then we headed back to camp. I had my backpack on and as we walked back to camp, Dixon took my elbow to make me stop walking. He waited until Rick and Michonne were out of earshot.

"You okay?" He asked me.

"Are _you_ okay?" I retorted.

"Mm." He replied.

"I'm fine, Dixon." I sighed. "I was alone, but I was fine. I survived, see?" I held up my hand and poked him in the forehead. "I'm still alive."

"Those guys..." Dixon started. "I just needed to be with 'em, ya know? A group. Just a way of gettin' by."

"I know, Dixon." I replied. "But if you had known what they had done to me..." I paused and looked down at my shoes. "You'd have killed them all as soon as look at them."

"You..." Dixon started. I cut him off with a nod. Neither he nor I needed to say it, but he needed to know. After a few quiet moments, I felt Dixon take my hand and give it a squeeze.

"Oh, hey." I said suddenly remembering the little wooden crossbow.

"I honestly thought you threw this out." I said handing it to him. He took it from my fingers and held it in his hand.

"Naw." He said shaking his head. "It's probly the best Christmas present I ever got."

"Daryl Dixon you sentimental bastard." I chuckled. He looked up at me. Before I knew what was going on, Dixon pressed his forehead to mine and just held it there.

"Are you gonna kiss me?" I murmured. He didn't reply. "It'd be a shame if you didn't. I'd probably have to kill you." He huffed air out of his nose like he was letting out a laugh and then he gingerly pressed his lips to mine. Neither of us made a move to deepen the kiss, both of us content just the way we were, then almost simultaneously we pulled away.

"C'mon, we better get back before they think we were eaten." I said. Dixon nodded and picked up his crossbow. I picked up my backpack and we walked back to the camp.

 **Author's Note: Okay so Mel and Daryl finally had a moment of sorts. Did you like it? Hate it? Did you wish it was longer? Did you wish more happened? I'd love to hear what you guys think so please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	48. Chapter 48

I climbed back into the truck with Carl. He woke up a little and moved into my chest as I wrapped my arms around his little body. I pressed my face against the back of his head and closed my eyes and saw vultures drop like flies.

"Are you okay?" Carl asked.

"Yeah, are you?" I replied.

"No, I mean, are you okay?" Carl repeated with more feeling. "Are you okay that you killed people?"

"They were bad people, Carl." I sighed. "Really bad."

"But you're not." Carl paused. "Was it easy?"

This time, I paused. "They were bad people, and that made it easy. But if I hadn't known what they were capable of, I think it would have been harder."

"You knew them?"

"Yeah." I sighed again. "Kinda. We ran into each other. I knew how sick and twisted they were. Killing those two was more for revenge than anything."

Carl and I stayed quiet for a minute.

"Carl, killing people should never be easy." I said firmly. "Remember that. Just because it's necessary, or they were bad people, it should never be easy." Carl nodded.

After a few minutes passed, Carl fell asleep again. I couldn't fall asleep, so I just cuddled Carl close. The sun started to rise and Michonne joined us in the car.

"You okay?" Michonne asked me.

"Can everyone stop asking me that." I whispered at her.

"It's important." Michonne replied. "I don't suppose you've ever killed people before?"

"No, of course not." I replied.

"So, are you okay?" Michonne repeated.

"Yeah." I sighed. "It was easy. Too easy. I don't know if that scares me or makes me happy."

"At this point, it should scare you." Michonne looked at me with concern. I turned away from her and continued to hold Carl.

Rick and Dixon were talking outside. Dixon had made Rick clean his face and was now trying to make Rick feel better about biting that guy's neck. It was good that Rick did that. I didn't have a clear shot at the grey vulture. Rick did the right thing, but I was sure he was concerned about Carl. Carl was stronger than anyone thought. He was going to be fine.

After about another hour, Rick got us all up and took some of the cans of corn I had in my backpack to make dinner.

"You couldn't have grabbed anything else?" Dixon asked.

"After living off of air and cranberry sauce for almost a week, no, I couldn't." I replied. "Sweet Corn is my favorite."

Dixon huffed air out of his nose but ate the corn anyway.

"So what happened to you, after the prison?" Rick asked while we ate what little we could ration.

"What happened to you?" I replied.

"Well, the Governor beat the crap outta Dad." Carl said. Rick gave him a look. Carl laughed. "Well he did! Then Michonne found us, then we ended up here. Simple as that."

"And you were with Beth." I nodded at Dixon. He nodded back. "What about everyone else? Did anyone see them?"

"Not sure if anyone else got out." Rick replied solemnly. "We're headed toward this place, Terminus, and hoping that if any of them had gotten out, they'd be there."

I nodded. "And Hershel?" I looked at Michonne. She looked down at her lap. I looked down at mine and sighed. "Oh."

"You?" Dixon asked.

"I was alone." I said. "I hadn't gotten out with anyone. I never unpacked my bag. It was always packed with some food and supplies, just in case we needed to get out fast. I grabbed it and ran." I shrugged. "Oh well, right?"

They all nodded and finished eating in silence.

* * *

I rolled the idea of Terminus around in my head. Could there really be such a place where we could all be safe?

We had found another sign on the tracks. I had missed them all, but now I felt like I was seeing them everywhere. What they promised... it sounded too good to be true.

Rick made us divert off of the train tracks and we approached Terminus from the woods. It looked like a safe enough place, but I was still hesitant.

"Spread out." Rick told us. "Look around. See what we see. Stay close, though." Rick looked at Carl. "Wanna stick with me?"

Carl shook his head. "It's okay." He followed Michonne and they walked off together. Rick looked at me.

"I'll go off on my own, I can handle myself." I said firmly. I had only walked a few yards away when I heard someone behind me.

"Dixon, if you wanted to come with me, you could have just asked." I shot over my shoulder.

"Would you have let me come?" He asked.

"Sure, you can teach me how to track." I replied. "It was almost literally murder stumbling around the woods, not being able to track or hunt or anything." I looked through the fence, but I didn't see anything that made me think this was a bad place.

"What do you think?" I asked Dixon. "Do think this place is a lucky break or too good to be true?"

Dixon shrugged. "Little a both, maybe?" I nodded. After a few more minutes, we headed back toward Rick.

"Okay." Rick said. "We're going in." Rick buried a bag with a few weapons inside, then we hopped a fence and entered Terminus.

 **Author's Note: Okay, I want to get your opinion on something. I've been struggling with weather or not making Mel pregnant, or not making her pregnant at all, or making her have a miscarriage. I don't know, I was wondering what you guys thought. I was leaning toward miscarriage. Alrighty, here's the next chapter, please leave a review with your questions, comments, concerns and have a nice day!**


	49. Chapter 49

At first, Terminus seemed nice, peaceful even. The fact that as we walked through the streets and didn't see anyone knotted my stomach. I had a bad feeling about this place. But it seemed peaceful. Rick was leading us around and gestured toward a building that seemed promising. We quietly entered the building, weapons at the ready, and walked toward the voices at the end of one of the hallways.

We stepped into a big warehouse room and looked around. There were tables with random items scattered all over them and people all around them. One woman was at a desk talking into a radio microphone.

Rick walked right up to her and said, "Hello?" The woman stopped mid-sentence and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Hello." A guy stepped forward and looked at our small group. "We didn't hear you come in."

"We wanted to see you before you saw us." Rick replied. He looked the guy up and down and walked back over to us.

"Right, well, you really should have used the front door." The guy said. "The welcome wagon is to die for." The people behind him chuckled and looked at each other like the guy had just alluded to an inside joke. "My name's Gareth."

"Rick." Rick replied. "Michonne, Daryl, Carl, and Mel." He gestured to us in turn, but never took his eyes off of Gareth.

Gareth nodded. "Okay, let's keep the pleasantries going, but I'm going to ask that you put your weapons down. Don't worry, it's just a precaution. We don't know you, you don't know us, get the picture?"

Rick looked at Dixon and Michonne. He nodded once and we put our weapons down. I even put my crowbar on the ground. I didn't want to relinquish my knives, so I tucked them into my boots right there in front of everyone and hoped no one noticed. They were a pair of cowboy boots someone had found for Beth but she had let me have them because she loved her pair too much. They were just about the only thing she still had of her old life.

"This is Alex." Gareth introduced and another guy walked out from behind him and started patting us down. He didn't find my knives. "Okay, you can grab your weapons again and follow me, please. The front looks way better than the back."

We picked up our stuff and followed Gareth. Rick lead the way with Carl and Michonne on his heels. Dixon fell into step beside me.

"You trust him?" He asked under his breath.

"Nope." I replied then we kept walking in silence.

"This is Mary." Gareth gestured toward a woman behind a makeshift grill. He had lead us through the warehouse and out into a kind of courtyard with plants and things growing all over the place. I looked around and had a flash of the prison. It had kind of looked like this. That didn't make me trust this place any better, but it reminded me of better times.

"Here." The woman, Mary, handed a plate with a small portion of food on it to Carl. "Eat, you all must be starving." Carl took the plate, then Rick lunged toward Alex, knocking it out of his hands. I held up my gun, ready to fire.

"Where'd you get this?" Rick asked. "This watch, where'd you get it?" I looked at the watch in Rick's hand and recognized it as Glenn's watch, originally Hershel's. I looked around and saw someone wearing the riot gear and other person with an orange backpack sitting next to them.

"Let him go." Gareth said calmly.

"Where're our friends?" Rick asked. Glenn had to be here, Maggie, too, probably, and maybe some others. Suddenly the air filled with bullets and gunfire. "Run!" Rick yelled. We started running, but we had no idea where we were going. They started shooting at us from the rooftops. In front of us sometimes, next to us other times. It was almost like they were leading us somewhere.

We burst through into another building and shut the door behind us.

"We need to get out of here." Michonne huffed. I looked around and saw shelves, candles, and words written all over the place.

"It looks like a shrine." I said. The candles were positioned in a circle and names were scrawled around them in a spiral. "These are probably all the people they lost."

"Mel, c'mon." I heard Dixon call. He was on the other end of the room holding the door open. We were back outside and running down another alley when we found ourselves finally trapped. There was a train car to our left, and Gareth was standing on the roof of the building in front of us with a bullhorn.

"Put your weapons down." Gareth said through the bullhorn. "Or the kid dies." Rick looked at Carl. I was the first to put my weapons down. Dixon watched me, then threw his crossbow down. Carl, Michonne, and Rick put their weapons down, too and waited.

"Okay, Ring Leader, you first." Gareth commanded. "Go to the door of the train car." Rick didn't moved, he kept staring at Carl. "It's okay. If you do what we say, the kid will be fine, now go. Archer, you're next. Not too fast, that's it." Rick moved toward the train car with Dixon trailing behind. "Samurai, you next. C'mon, we don't have all day. Okay, now you Little Miss Leprechaun."

As I walked passed Carl, I whispered, "Leprechaun? He couldn't have come up with something better?" I saw Carl smile out of the corner of my eye as I took up stance behind Michonne.

"Ring Leader, Archer, Samurai, Little Miss Leprechaun, in that order, good." Gareth said.

"My son." Rick called.

"Okay, kid, go ahead." Carl walked toward us and stood behind me. "Open the door, and go inside." Rick opened the door and we all walked into the train car in a line. Someone came up and closed and locked the door behind us.

Going from sunny Georgia to the pitch black train car was a bit of a shock, but after about a minute my eyes adjusted and I realized we weren't alone.

"Rick?" Someone said from the other end of the train car.

"Glenn!" I said excitedly. I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Maggie! Sasha! Bob!" I looked at all their faces and they smiled back at me. Then I noticed the strangers. Two men and two women.

"They helped me-us." Glenn explained. "They're my friends."

"Then they're ours, too." Dixon said gruffly. Rick was staring at the door of the train car.

"Rick?" Maggie said.

"I can't wait." Rick murmured.

"Wait 'til what?" The bigger of the two men asked.

"'Til they find out who they're fucking with."

 **Author's Note: Thanks for the input about Mel being pregnant or not. That fact isn't going to be relevant for a while, but I just thought I'd ask and get an opinion. Alrighty, here's the next chapter, please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	50. Chapter 50

Rick wanted to take inventory of what we had and to try to figure out how to make weapons out of it all. I took out the two knives I had and Dixon took one of them. I glared at him but I let him have it. We used Glenn's watch to make shanks out of some of the wood beams. Sasha was making something like brass knuckles out of her belt. We didn't have much in the way of weapons, but we were smart.

On the other side of the train car, Dixon was explaining to Maggie about Beth and how she was gone, not dead, just gone. I was listening from my end of the train car when Glenn walked over to me.

"Hey, I have a bone to pick with you." I complained at him.

"What?" Glenn asked, a smile playing on his lips.

"The fuck is up with that guy?" I asked, pointing at the big man Glenn had introduced as Abraham. Apparently, Abraham heard me and looked over at me.

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.

"Well," I said, drawing the word out. "When you lose your primary ginger, you don't just go out and find yourself a new one." I flapped my arms around. "This is total anarchy, Glenn! Anarchy!"

"Sorry?" Glenn laughed.

"No, it's too late for that." I shook my head. Then we heard people outside and the lighthearted atmosphere I had created was ruined. Everyone's faces turned to stone as we all stood by the door and got ready to attack. But they didn't use the front door, they used the roof. They opened up a door in the ceiling and dropped cans of tear gas into the train car. While we choked and gagged on the gas, they opened one of the doors and started grabbing people.

When the doors shut and the gas finally cleared up, Rick, Dixon, Glenn, and Bob were gone.

"Where'd they go?" Maggie asked. "Where'd they take them?"

"Where ever they took them," I said, "and for whatever reason, they took the wrong people." Maggie nodded then got to work making another shank out of one of the posts.

"They'll be back." Carl told me.

I mussed up his hair. "I know kid. I just hope it's sooner rather than later." We kept ourselves buys, Eugene, the weirdo mullet guy, was working on trying to compromise the door in an effort to get us out.

"So, you know what caused this?" Sasha asked Eugene.

"Yes ma'am I do." Eugene replied.

"So what caused all this?" Sasha asked.

"A TV show." I whispered to Carl. He clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.

"I am not at liberty to disclose that information." Eugene replied.

"Oh c'mon." Sasha said exasperated. "We're probably going to die now anyway, might as well say."

"On my watch, Eugene will not die today." Abraham said. "I made it my mission to get him to D.C."

"Shit happens, though." I said. "No matter how much you don't want him to die, he may still die."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Abraham said staring at me.

Then there was an explosion.

Everyone jumped up at attention. We stared at the door of the train car. Michonne made her way to the door and looked out a small opening.

"There are walkers out there." Michonne told us. We just stood and waited for what felt like forever. Suddenly, the door slammed open and Rick was there yelling at us to run. He had a gun then suddenly Sasha had one, too. She had taken it off of a dead guy. I stayed close to Carl since he didn't have a weapon. I stabbed walker after walker.

"Here!" Carl called. I turned around and saw that he was pushing a walker away from him. It had a grey beard and a leather jacket. My chest constricted and it was almost impossible to breathe. Michonne ran up next to me and stabbed the walker. I hadn't even realized that it had almost killed Carl. Michonne and Carl stared at me as I worked to get my breath back. Carl grabbed the hand that didn't have the knife in it and pulled me after him. He was following Michonne who was following the group as they worked their way toward one of the fences. We climbed up and over the fence then started toward the woods, Dixon in the lead.

Carl had let go of my hand so we could climb the fence, but then took my hand again once we were over.

"Carl." I said, trying to take my hand back. He shook his head and squeezed it tighter.

"We stopped here before we went in." Dixon said. He knelt down at the base of a tree and pulled out a trowel. He tossed it to Rick who caught it and started digging at the base of another tree.

"Take the rifle and stand at the fence." Rick explained. "Take them out while they run. They don't get to live." Everyone looked at each other in hesitation.

"Rick, the fences are down." Glenn said, trying to reason with him. "If they aren't dead, they will be."

"The place is on fire, too." Rosita added.

"They'll run or die." Maggie interjected. "There's no point." Rick stared incredulously at everyone in the group. He stood up, ready to fight, when I saw someone move behind him. At first I thought it was a walker. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was Carol. I wrenched my hand out of Carl's and ran over to her. I threw my arms around her neck and squeezed.

"Carol?" Rick asked.

I let go of Carl and looked her in the face. "Did you do that? Did you explode the place?"

"Yeah." Carol said smiling at me. "C'mon, I have something to show you." But before Carol could turn and lead the way, Rick straight walked up to her and hugged her. He obviously felt really bad about kicking her out of the prison.

Carol lead the way through the woods. She had even stolen Dixon's crossbow back and handed it to him. Dixon looked whole with his weapon of choice strapped to his back. I was going to miss my crowbar and my backpack, but I'm sure I could find another one.

Carol lead us to a small clearing with a shack in the middle. A big black man with a tiny white baby stood on the porch. Rick dropped everything he was carrying and all but sprinted toward Tyrese and Judith. Carl, who had taken up stance holding my hand again, let go and ran after his dad. Sasha briskly walked her way to her brother then sobbed into his outstretched arms.

I smiled at the happy family reunion.

I slung my arm across Carol's shoulders, and she wrapped her arm around my waist.

"I'm glad you're back." I told her. "And I know Rick is, too, and guilty probably. But hey, if he hadn't sent you away, you probably wouldn't have been able to save us." I gave her a squeeze.

"What are you saying?" Carol laughed a little. "I'm getting some mixed signals here, I think."

"I'm saying that everything happens for a reason." I sighed.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Carol smiled then moved toward Tyrese. My arm dropped to my side like a stone. Carl walked back over to me.

"Did you see?" He asked. "Judith's okay. Tyrese and Carol took care of her."

"I do, I see." I replied chuckling. He took my hand again. "Why do you keep holding my hand?"

"Because you aren't okay." Carl explained. "You said you were okay, but I saw the face you made when that walker was coming at me. You know, the one Michonne had to _kill_ because you _couldn't_. You couldn't kill that walker. I almost died."

I made a face.

"No, don't, it's okay." Carl continued. "Lucky Michonne was right there. But whatever went through your head right then, can't go through your head again. Michonne might not be there next time, no one might. It might just be you." He squeezed my hand. "I just want you to know that you aren't alone."

"You don't have to hold my hand 24/7." I choked. My throat was closing up and the corners of my eyes were pricking.

Carl smiled. "I know, I just want to."

"Okay." Rick called to everyone. "We need to get as far away from there as possible." Everyone gathered up what little they had, if they had anything at all, and started walking. We stepped onto the train tracks and started heading toward... God knew what.

 **Author's Note: Okay everyone, here is the next chapter in Mel's journey. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	51. Chapter 51

One night, I was sitting on watch leaning against a tree. Dixon came by and sat down.

"Go to sleep." He said to me. "I'll keep watch."

"It's okay." I replied. "I can keep watch."

"When's the last time you slept?" Dixon replied. He removed his crossbow from his back and put himself in a stance that meant he wasn't leaving.

"I don't know." I admitted. "I nap, sort of, but I don't sleep, really."

"Then go." Dixon said stubbornly.

"I can't." I sighed after a moment. "It's worse than when we were at the prison. I can't sleep anymore."

"Why?" He asked. I didn't reply. I had mad an effort to convince everyone that I was okay. I convinced them so well that I had managed to convince myself, too, but the fact of the matter is, I wasn't okay. If I fall asleep long enough to dream, I would see the men I killed. I would see their brains explode from their heads and splatter on the ground. At the time, I thought I had bypassed the after affects of killing those guys, but obviously I hadn't. It was killing me, the fact that I had killed those men, no matter how justified it was. Yes, I had to kill them, I hand't killed them because I had to, I had killed them because I wanted to. And that fact scared me.

Dixon, thank God, didn't press me into talking to him. He just sat with me and let the matter of my sleep routine drop. The sun had just started to rise over the horizon when I leaned back against the tree and my eyes fluttered shut for a few minutes. I was just floating into the space between sleep and consciousness when I felt someone shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes and looked up into Dixon's face.

I almost screamed but managed to keep my shit together. Apparently something in my face made Dixon jump back and hold up his hands in surrender.

"Sorry." He said, then walked away toward the mini campfire. I pressed my hand against my chest to try to slow the hummingbird behind my ribs. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, in through my nose and out through my mouth.

 _Why was I so scared?_ I thought to myself. _It was just Dixon._ My heart finally started beating at a normal rate and I stood up and walked over to the campfire. Over the last week or so Carl had stopped holding my hand all the time and had reduced it to holding my hand occasionally. Rick held out a makeshift plate to me with some squirrel or something on it. I took the plate and planted myself next to Carl.

We ate a small breakfast then started on our way through the woods. Hours later, Sasha and Bob started playing a game.

"Sun relentlessly beating down on you." Sasha said.

"What is the name of this game?" I asked, walking up next to Sasha.

"Bob likes to find the good in the bad." Sasha replied. "So now he has to find the good out of a sun continuously shining down on us."

"Oh, lemme try!" I said excitedly. "A glorious tan!" I flicked my hair over my shoulder and pulled out my best runway walk. Bob and Sasha started laughing.

"That's a good one." Bob smiled at me. I smiled back then made my way up to Carl, who immediately took my hand.

"So Sasha and Bob are playing a game," I told him, "have you ever played I Spy?"

"I suck at I Spy." Carl replied. I laughed, then we heard someone calling from deeper in the woods.

"Help!" The man yelled. "Help me!"

"Dad!" Carl said, looking at his father. Rick made to attempt to move. "Dad! Dad c'mon!" Carl said, then almost simultaneously, the whole group started toward the man. Carl hadn't let go of my hand until we came upon the man, who was perched on a rock and being harassed by a group of walkers. Carl shot one then Rick, Dixon, Carol, and Michonne ran forward and killed the rest.

"Thank you." The man, who was clad all in black, said. He climbed down off of the the rock and repeated, "Thank you." Then he bent over and threw up.

I giggled.

"Hey, you threw up, too." Glenn said to me.

"Only after it almost killed me." I replied haughtily. "Besides, I didn't know they existed." Glenn smiled and I giggled again.

"My name is Gabriel." The man said after a moment.

"Do you have any weapons on you?" Rick asked him.

"He's a priest, Rick." I said. "He doesn't have any weapons."

Rick studied the man.

"I don't give two shits what he is." Abraham said. "Do you or do you not have weapons?"

"No, the word of God is the only thing I need." Gabriel explained. "I only left my church to find food."

Carl reached into his pocket and held out his hand. "Here're some pecans."

"Thank you." Gabriel took the nuts and held them in his hand.

"Okay, I'm tired of all faux tense." I said slapping my thighs with my hands. "Do you have a church, if so, where is it? May we use it?"

Gabriel looked at me.

"Mel, we don't even know who this guy is." Rick turned around to stare at me.

"Yes we do, he's a priest." I shot at him. "Have you never gone to church? Part of the priestly job description is to help those in need."

"You went to church then." Gabriel said to me.

"Oh yeah, every Sunday, and the occasional Wednesday." I replied. "Then my eight year old brother drowned in a lake and I said fuck it, I'm done." I smiled at the priest. "So, you gonna show us where your church is, bro?"

"Something's wrong with you." Tara, one of Glenn's new friends, said.

I smiled at her. "Tara," I patted her on her shoulder, "something's wrong with all of us, hon." A smile played on her lips as she shook her head.

"I really have no idea what to do with you." Tara admitted. I chuckled.

"My church is this way." Gabriel said sort of dazed. I wondered if anyone had so blatantly called bullshit on his religion before.

Carl fell into step next to me and took my hand.

"Your brother died?" He asked.

"Yeah." I replied. "A couple years before I got here."

Carl nodded. "I'm sorry."

I shrugged. "It's okay, you reminded me a little of him." Carl smiled up at me.

Thankfully, Gabriel's church wasn't too far away, and it was big enough for everyone to fit inside and have a place to sleep.

 **Author's Note: Okay, and yet another chapter! So I'm not going to lie, most of this chapter is sort of half assed, especially at the end, but only because I changed what I was going to do halfway through the chapter and decided to just keep going but excluding what I was going to do. Alrighty, please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	52. Chapter 52

Carl didn't let go of my hand while Gabriel led us to his church. When we finally made it, he reluctantly let my hand drop as he took Judith from Rick so Rick so could inside the church and make sure that it really was empty. I had no reason to believe that Gabriel had lied about being alone, but it was nice knowing that he had been telling the truth when Rick came back out and told us that there wasn't a soul in sight.

The inside of the church was like all church insides. There were pews to sit on, an alter to pray at, stained glass windows to stare at when you get bored. Once everyone was inside and the little stuff we had was unloaded, Rick started questioning Gabriel about the food situation.

"There was a food drive right before everything happened." Gabriel explained. "That's how I had all this food."

There were cans littering the floor by the alter.

"Is there anywhere else that may have food?" Rick asked.

"Well, there's the food bank were all of this was supposed to go." Gabriel mused. "I've already checked everywhere else in town that was worth checking except there."

"Why?" Rick pressed. He really didn't like Gabriel.

"It's overrun." Gabriel replied sheepishly.

"How many?" Rick continued to press.

"A dozen or so." Gabriel replied.

"We can handle that." Rick turned to the group. "Michonne, Bob, and Sasha, why don't you guys come with us."

"Us?" Gabriel choked.

"Yeah, you're coming with us." Rick replied. It wasn't a suggestion. Michonne, Bob, Sasha, and Rick prepared to go on their run while Dixon and Carol grabbed some jugs to collect water. I was sitting on the piano bench watching the proceedings. I watched as Sasha said goodbye to Tyrese and Rick sat down with Carl and talked to him for a couple of minutes while Carl bounced Judith on his knee. He really was a good big brother. He was probably going to be to Judith what my big brother Tyler was to me. We were best friends, Tyler and I. I missed him. I missed all of them.

Once everyone left, Tara came over and sat next to me.

"So what's your story?" Tara asked. "Because I really can't figure you out. You're just too cheery."

I shrugged. "The truth?"

"Yeah." Tara nodded.

"I'm actually from another world." I said with my dead serious face on. "See all of this was a TV show to me." I gestured around. "And one night I fell asleep after watching an episode and then when I woke up I was at Maggie's Dad's farm."

Tara stared at me. "I thought you were going to tell the truth." She scolded me.

"Alright, you got me." I laughed, though I had in fact told the truth. "My dad was in the military and he got stationed down at Fort Binning, but I was born in Wyoming. We were here when the world ended and shit, then I met all of these guys and the rest is history." I shrugged again. It was weird saying how I had gotten here. It had been so long since it had happened it was almost like I had lived in this world my whole life. I was starting to forget who I had been, though, if me from now met me from then, she'd probably hate her. She was a pussy and an outcast. Here, I am who I'm supposed to be.

"That makes more sense." Tara nodded. "And you said your brother died? I'm sorry. I lost my sister and niece. It's hard."

"Did you lose them before or after?" I asked.

"After." Tara paused. "I was at the prison."

There was silence between us for a moment.

"Did you want to be there?"

"No." Tara said firmly. "That guy was psycho and we shouldn't have gone along with him."

I nodded. "Yeah, but the important part is that you didn't want to be there. Does Maggie know? Did you know that the old man the psycho killed was Maggie's dad?"

"Yeah Glenn told me." Tara replied quietly. "And no I haven't told Maggie, but I will. She has to know."

I shrugged again. "She'll be okay with it. If you're cool with one person, you're cool with pretty much everyone." We sat silently together on the piano bench until Carol and Dixon came back with four jugs of water. After a few hours, Rick, Michonne, Sasha, Bob, and Gabriel came back with carts of canned goods.

And damn did we eat that night.

It was nice having enough food to actually have a legitimate meal with. I was still sitting on the piano bench, but instead of Tara next to me, it was Carl.

"Are you teaching him how to play the piano, Mel?" Rick asked.

"Or rather teaching him to play _Mary Had a Little Lamb_." I called to him over my shoulder.

Rick laughed. "That's one of my favorites. Yeah I really love the melodies and such." Carl and I cracked up and I really did try to teach him the song, but after a while I couldn't take his horrible half-assed playing so I pushed him aside and started playing the haunting theme song from _Pan's Labyrinth_.

"So I have something to say." Abraham said standing up. I stopped playing and Carl and I turned around. "So, as you all know, Rosita, Eugene, and I are heading up to D.C. I was hoping that ya'll would be willing to come with us. There is strength in numbers and I would be honored to have you all come."

There was a pause and within that pause, Judith made a noise.

"What was that?" Rick asked. Everyone laughed. "You want to go to D.C.?" Rick shrugged then looked up at Abraham. "Well, Judith's in, and if she's in I'm in." Everyone laughed and nodded in agreement. I had always wanted to see D.C., of course, I didn't exactly expect I was going to have to get transported to the middle of the Zombie Apocalypse in order to do it, but you take what you can get, right?

I looked up and saw Dixon by the door to the church. We made eye contact and he jerked his head toward the door then slipped out. I stood up and patted Carl on the shoulder. I waited until no one was paying attention before I left and found Dixon standing near the tree line.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Carol's gone." Dixon replied.

"What do you mean she's gone?" I asked.

"I mean, we found a car back when we was gettin' water." Dixon explained. "I think maybe she's gone and took it."

"C'mon then." I said. "Where's that car at?" Dixon lead the way, crossbow at the ready. I had managed to get my hands on a gun and was now holding it out in front of me.

The car was still where Dixon and Carol had left it.

"She didn't take it." I said.

"Then were'd she go?" Dixon asked.

"Do you have the keys?" I asked.

"No, Carol had them." Just then, there was a rustling in the bushes. Dixon and I held up our respective weapons and waited, but it was only Carol who stumbled out of the woods. She held up her hands and we dropped our weapons.

"What're you doin'?" Dixon scolded.

"I'm leaving, Daryl." Carol replied.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I can't be here." Carol replied simply. "Do you know how to change a car battery, Daryl? There's one in the trunk and the one it has is dead."

"You're talking to Dixon, you know that, right?" I asked. I looked at Dixon but his face was carved of stone and I didn't think a herd of walkers would have moved him right at that moment. "I do." I stepped forward and held my hand out. Carol handed me the keys and I popped the trunk. I pulled the new car battery out and started changing it. Dixon hadn't moved an inch. I tossed the old car battery into the woods, the voice of my ecofriendly mother in my head screaming at me that batteries needed to be properly disposed of. Looking at the state of things, I didn't think the world could get any more fucked up even if I left thousands of dead car batteries in the woods.

"Why'd ya do that?" Dixon hissed at me when I went to stand next to him.

"If Carol doesn't want to stay, who are we to make her?" I asked. "I mean, I don't want her to leave anymore than you do, but you know she got kicked out and why,"

"She saved us." Dixon replied.

"I know, Daryl, I was there, but we can't make her stay." I replied firmly. "If she really wants to leave she'll find a way to make it happen."

Dixon just stared at me for a minute. Suddenly, there was the unmistakable sound of a car on the road. It sped past and Dixon ran out into the road. The he was running back to the car. He smashed out the tail lights then forced Carol to give him the keys to the car.

"Dixon-" I started.

But his only reply was, "Beth."

"Just go back and tell them we'll be back." I told Carol quickly. Then as an after thought I added, "Sorry." Then I jumped into the car and Dixon sped off down the road.

 **Author's Note: Here's the latest chapter in Mel's life. I really don't have much else to say except please leave a review or message me and have a nice day!**


	53. Chapter 53

"If you could be a superhero, what would your superhero name be and what power would you have?" I asked Dixon. We were sitting silently in the car in the middle of Atlanta, watching and waiting.

"What?" Dixon looked at me like I had lost my mind.

"I'd have wings, like bird wings, and I'd be faster and stronger than the average person." I continued. "Ooh, and my wings would be black and I'd be called the Raven, like the Edgar Allan Poe poem."

Dixon just kept staring at me.

"Well?" I asked, nudging his arm.

Dixon shook his head and didn't answer. We sat in silence for a few more minutes before Dixon finally opened his mouth.

"What's with Carl and you?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He's always holdin' your hand."

"Oh, yeah, he doesn't think I'm okay." I replied. "He holds my hand so I always know I'm not alone." After a couple of heart beats, Dixon took my hand. I smiled to myself then we both jumped ten feet in the air as a walker slammed into the car. I let out the breath I was holding then turned my attention forward. The car we had been following had stopped and one of the occupants had gotten out and wandered down the road. I straightened up as he came back and climbed back into the car. They drove away and Dixon attempted to turn the car back on, but it just stuttered.

"It's tapped out." Dixon sighed.

"There're more coming." I looked out the window.

"We gotta get outta here." Dixon confirmed. I looked around and remembered something Carol had told me.

"Carol once told me about this place." I shifted in the seat and looked around more carefully. "She didn't tell me exactly where it was, but she told me what was around it." I pointed toward a building. "That's one of the buildings she named so it's probably around here somewhere." I looked over at Dixon.

"It's worth a shot." Dixon nodded. We climbed out of the car, killing the walkers that were closest to us. I looked carefully at all the buildings we passed until I found the one Carol had told me about.

"This one." I said, pointing. Dixon stepped forward started trying to break in. I kept watch, eyeing the walkers that were getting too close for comfort. I heard the door break and Dixon say, "C'mon." I turned around and followed him inside as quickly as possible. He shut the door behind us and we made our way through the building.

"What'd Carol say this place was?" Dixon asked.

"She said she came here with Sophia when Ed got too much to handle." I explained.

"When'd she tell you that?"

"I don't really remember, earlier on, I think." I replied. "It was just after Sophia... you know." I shrugged. Dixon nodded and we continued walking through the hallways. We found our way into one of the bedrooms.

"Dibs on the top bunk." I said. We didn't have bags or anything so I just climbed onto the top bunk and sat down.

"Sleep." Dixon said. "The place is locked up tight so there ain't no reason to keep watch."

"Mm." I said, looking down at my hands. Dixon laid down on the bottom bunk and we didn't say anything for the longest time.

"You asleep?" Dixon asked.

"Nope." I replied.

"You ever wanna go home?" He asked.

"Why?"

"I dunno." Dixon sighed. "'Cause you got a home to go to?"

"Yeah." I said. "I have a home, it's back at the church. Well, more accurately, the people inside the church."

"Naw, like the home you had before here." Dixon explained.

"Everyday, that home feels more and more like a dream." I sighed. "Besides, they'd probably shut me up in a mental institution if I ever managed to get back."

"Huh."

We stayed sitting quietly until we heard a noise from down the hallway. I jumped down from the top bunk and Dixon stood up from the bottom one. We carefully walked down the hallway until we were met with a walker behind a glass door. Dixon lowered his crossbow as I fixed my eyes on the smaller form of another walker. Dixon looked at me then followed my gaze toward the kid.

"Let's go." I choked out. I saw my little brother in that little walker. I wanted to kill it. I wanted to run away from it. I didn't know what I wanted. Dixon took my hand and pulled me after him back toward the bedroom. I climbed robotic-like back onto the top bunk and laid down.

"You okay?" Dixon asked. It felt like my vocal cords were swollen. I couldn't reply, instead I stayed silent. I stared up at the ceiling, my mind blank and my body cold. I couldn't make a coherent thought. Before I knew it, it was morning. I hadn't realize Dixon was gone until I jumped down. I looked out the window and saw a fire on the rooftop. I made my way outside and found Dixon burning the bodies of the walkers from the other room.

"Thank you." I told him.

He nodded at me. "You good now?"

"I don't think I'm gonna be good for a while." I admitted. Dixon nodded again and led the way back inside. We found water bottles and bags to carry stuff in and then we left the building.

 **Author's Note: Okay, so after re-watching this episode I thought that this scene was important, even though I switched Carol with Mel. I still put it in but with my own little twist of course. Alrighty, please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	54. Chapter 54

Dixon poked his head around one of the buildings.

"Busy." He told me. "There's a bridge, though." I pulled out a pad of paper and handed it to him. He pulled out his lighter.

"From the black end." I said. Dixon lit the legal pad on fire and tossed it across the street. We watched as the majority of the walker shambled toward the burning paper and we ran as quietly as possible toward a parking garage. We mad our way up into the building and to one of those window walkways that connects one building to the other. Inside the walkway there were walkers trapped in a couple of tents and sleeping bags.

"Sometimes, I dunno what to think." Dixon murmured. We walked around and killed the walkers in the sleeping bags, but the ones in the tents seemed pretty secure. Dixon held the door at the end of the hall open and I slipped through. Dixon followed, muttering about how it had been a good idea that we had missed breakfast.

"So you never answered my question." I told him as we walked down the hallway.

"What question?" Dixon replied.

"The superhero one." We made our way to an office room at the end of the hallway.

"Oh." Dixon looked down at his feet. I walked over to one of the windows and looked out.

"I don't need superpowers." Dixon stated.

"Sure you don't, no one _needs_ superpowers." I said. "We need food and water and air. We _want_ superpowers. Makes life more exciting."

"What, the walkers ain't excitin' enough for ya?" Dixon snorted.

"Nope." I shook my head and looked at him.

"Fine, I'd have, like, super hearing and stuff." Dixon stepped up next to me and looked out the window.

"You already kinda have that." I replied smiling. "What'd your name be?"

"The... uh." He looked down at his crossbow. "The Green Arrow, I guess."

"The Green Arrow is already a superhero." I laughed.

"Then... I'll be the blue one... then." Dixon said, exasperated. "Is there a blue one?" He placed his hand up to the window and pressed his nose against the pane.

"No, there isn't a blue arrow." I tried to follow his gaze but I couldn't. "You see something?" I asked.

"Maybe." He replied. I found a clear plastic glass and poured some water into it from the jug and handed it to him. He held it up and tried to use it as a magnifying glass. "Is this shit supposed to help?" He asked.

"Did you get a better look?" I answered.

"Yeah, a bus with white crosses on the back like I thought." He replied, turning around to look at me.

"Then yeah, that shit is supposed to help." I smiled. I pulled out the water bottles and started to fill them up using the jug. Dixon drank the water in the cup and turned his attention toward the painting on the wall.

"I bet some rich prick paid a lot of money for this thing." Dixon commented.

I turned around and looked at the painting. "I like it."

"It looks like a fell in paint and wiped its ass all over the place."

"Fine, be that way, but I like it." I cocked my head a little to the right and sighed. "I always hoped I'd be an artist one day. Everyone told me I had to be something that lead somewhere, a psychologist like my dad, a district attorney like my mom, but I wasn't good at those things. I sucked at school. I was horrible at talking to people and making friends, my sarcastic nature seemed to turn them off for some reason. I had always been a good artist, though."

Dixon looked at me and nodded. "Maybe we shouldn'ta burned the paper."

I shrugged. "It's okay, I'm sure there's more paper around here somewhere. Besides, it's the end of the world. If I thought paper was more important than surviving, I'd have to get my priorities straight. I was also pretty good with cars. It helps having three older brothers." Dixon led the way back out into the hallway. "You know, for my senior prank, I did something related to cars."

"What'd ya do?" Dixon asked.

"One day, I had my mom call the school and tell them I was sick." I started. "Then I called my brothers and asked them if they could help me. We took apart all the teachers' cars, even the principle, and rebuilt them on the roof. We even added parking space signs and parking lines to make the roof look like a parking lot. Then we hung a sign on the side of the building that said, 'faculty parking.' It was awesome."

Dixon looked at me. "Did you get in trouble?"

"Oh-ho yeah." I laughed. "Two weeks out of school suspension. Still got to graduate, though." I laughed again. We made it back to the windowed walkway and Dixon held the door open for me again. I slipped through and came face to face with another human being.

"Whoa, hello." I said, holding my hands up. He was holding a hand gun and pointing it at me. "Could you put the gun down? We won't hurt you, we don't even have guns." Dixon slipped in next to me and stood up. The boy, who had to have been at least my age, slowly put the gun down.

"There you go." I said. "Seriously, it's okay, we're just looking for our friend. Do you know whose cars those are? The ones with the white crosses on them?"

"Yeah, yeah I do." The boy said. "You don't want to go there. It's a bad place."

"So you're from there." I stated.

"Yeah." The boy nodded. "I got out. I need to get out of the city." The boy looked nervously toward the windows. "I need to leave. Need to get out of here."

"Did you see a girl there?" Dixon finally piped up. "A blonde girl? You see a blonde girl there?"

"Beth?" The boy asked, jerking his head back toward us.

"Beth, yeah Beth." I said. "You were with her, where? Where's Beth?"

The boy shook his head. "No, I can't go back there."

"So just show us where to go." I pleaded. "Just show us, Beth's our friend. Her sister's back at our camp." Dixon shot me a look but I ignored him.

The boy nodded. "Show... just show you. Okay, yeah, I'll just show you. Beth's my friend, too"

I nodded. "Thank you. My name's Mel, this is Daryl but I call him Dixon."

"Noah." The boy replied.

"Okay, Noah, lead the way." I said. Noah kept his gun in front of him as he led the way out of the building.

"You trust this kid?" Dixon murmured to me.

"Yeah, I think so." I replied. "Beth's no idiot. If they're friends, I'm sure we can trust him."

Dixon looked skeptical.

 **Author's Note: Alright, so I realize this story line is maybe taking longer than it probably needs to, but there was no way I was going to fit everything I wanted into one chapter. Alrighty, please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	55. Chapter 55

Noah led us into a building that was only three blocks from Grady Memorial Hospital, the place where he said they were keeping Beth.

"Okay, good." Dixon said. "This is good."

"What do they have?" I asked Noah. "Weapons? People?"

"All of the above." Noah replied.

"So do we." Dixon added.

"So basically we just have to go, get our people, come back, sneak in there, get Beth, and get back out without everyone dying." I said, looking at Dixon. "Sounds easy enough."

"Okay, let's get outta here." Dixon sighed, taking one last look out the window.

"Is Beth his girlfriend or something?" Noah whispered to me. Dixon was too far ahead of us to hear.

"What?" I looked at him.

"The way he's trying to find her so hard." Noah trailed off.

"I'm going to assume you've never been part of a real group." I replied. "One where the people you're surrounded by stop being friends and start being family? That's what happened with Dixon and Beth."

"Why do you call him Dixon?" Noah asked.

"You know, I can't remember." I sighed. "It was just after..." I stopped. I couldn't exactly say it was just after I got here from my world now could I?

"Just after what?" Noah questioned. Then a walker came out of nowhere and slammed into my back. We tumbled down, a yell escaping my lips. Before it had the chance to eat me, Noah shot it.

"Can you pay attention?" Dixon scolded, helping me up. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my face with concern. Shrugged off the hand that was holding my right shoulder. "You hurt?" He asked, trying to look at me shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, pushing him away. "Stop, I'm okay. It's like when someone's going in to punch you and you say owe and it didn't even hurt. It's a reflex, my shoulder's okay." Dixon stared at me, not entirely convinced.

"We've gotta go." Noah said, worry in his voice. "We gotta go now. They probably heard the gunshot. They're probably coming right now. We're gonna get caught."

"Calm down." I told Noah. "We're going to be fine." On the word "fine," my right shoulder twinged where the walker and surely bit it, emphasizing just how not fine I was at that moment. Like hell I was going to tell anyone that, though. I'd tell them about the bite after we get Beth back. There was no need to worry everyone, especially Dixon, right now.

As Dixon lead the way down to the first floor and toward the front door, a car with a white cross sped past. Noah, Dixon, and I waited until it was out of sight before we made our way out of the building and to every car and van we could find. Finally, a truck started up and had enough gas to get us back to the church. When we got back, Dixon and Noah took turns explaining about Beth and Grady Memorial.

Everyone started making a plan to get Beth back. Rick told us when we showed up that Maggie, Glenn, Tara had gone to D.C. with Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene and that Bob had been bitten and Sasha had made sure he wasn't coming back.

I sat down in a pew and poked at my shoulder. It was most definitely a bite. Except, I didn't feel sick, not really anyway, though I assumed most of it was because I was scared out of my tree. I really didn't want to fight walkers let alone almost become one. I laid down along the pew and fell asleep almost instantly. I didn't dream of anything and woke up to see Carl looking down at me.

"Hey, we're getting the church all protected and stuff." He told me. I sat up, groggy and confused. My head was killing me and I didn't feel good at all.

"Okay, be right there." I said. Carl studied me for a minute then nodded and walked away. Instead of getting up, I laid back down and fell asleep again.

"When was the last time she slept?" I heard Carol ask as I slowly woke up.

"It had to have been a few days." Dixon replied. I sat up and rubbed my throbbing head.

"That's probably why she doesn't look very good." Sasha commented.

"Speak for yourself." I mumbled, every syllable rattling around inside my head like marbles.

"Are you okay?" Carol asked.

"Fine." I replied. "I think I'm getting sick, though." I sat against the back of the pew and rested my head back and shut my eyes.

"We're going back to get Beth." Dixon said.

"Michonne, Judith, Gabriel, and Carl are saying back." Rick added.

"I'll stay here." I sighed. "Make sure little Judy doesn't party too hard. Can't have little drunk babies walking around."

"Thanks." Rick chuckled. I dozed off while everyone left for Atlanta. I stayed mostly asleep while Michonne, Carl, and Gabriel did God knew what. Suddenly, Michonne was jerking me up and shoving a gun in my hands.

"Wake up, we have to go." She told me.

"Why? What happened?" I asked hazily.

"Gabriel got out and brought walkers back." Carl explained. Everything that happened next was a blur. I was still groggy and hazy and didn't really have a good grasp at what was happening around me. One minute I was inside the church, then I was outside and Michonne and Carl were killing walkers. Suddenly, there was a firetruck and Abraham, Rosita, Glenn, and Maggie were jumping out of it and killing more walkers. I managed to kill one, but everyone else handled the rest.

"Are you okay, Mel?" Glenn asked me.

I shook my head. "Nope, I'm sick." Glenn put his arm around my shoulders as Michonne gave Maggie the good news.

"Beth's alive." Michone smiled. "She's alive, Maggie." Maggie couldn't have smiled any wider even if she tried.

"Hey, Glenn, what starts with 'f' and ends with 'uck'?" I asked.

"Uh." Glenn stared at me.

"Firetruck!" I laughed. "See 'cause you guys are driving a firetruck?" I laughed some more.

"Let's get her inside the truck." Maggie said, laughing. "She's needs rest."

They laid me down in the back of the firetruck and I slept the whole way to Atalanta.

When I woke up, Beth was dead.

 **Author's Note: Alright, what do you guys think about this chapter? Please leave a review or PM me with questions, comments, concerns and have a nice day!**


	56. Chapter 56

I had wanted to be at Beth's funeral, for Maggie's sake, but I couldn't even keep my eyes open, let alone stand. Later that day, a memory floated up into my sickness muddled brain of our first night at the prison. We had been sitting around a campfire and I had been scolding Beth for being a bad Irish-woman. Then Beth, Maggie, and I started singing _The Parting Glass_ as everyone sat and ate and just reveled in the fact that we may finally be safe. I even got into the habit of humming _The Parting Glass_ whenever I was awake, assuming I could tell when I was awake.

I was so sick, I could never tell if I was awake or asleep. It was so bad that I couldn't separate real life from my dreams. I had nearly taken Carl's hand off while he was trying to get me to drink water because I thought he was a vulture. I did that a lot. I would accidentally attack someone who was just trying to make sure I survived. Soon enough it had to be Tyrese who made sure I ate and drank, especially drank water, and took antibiotics the hospital had given us. He was the only person who was big enough to hold me down.

Finally, after what felt like forever, I was feeling better. I could tell I was awake versus being asleep. I felt woozy and sick to my stomach, but I could sit up. We had ditched the firetruck for a couple of cars that better suited our needs. I climbed out of the station wagon and wobbled over to the group who were sitting around a small campfire.

"She's still really sick." Maggie said. "But her fever hasn't gotten any worse so that's good."

"Did she get bit?" Rick asked, looking at Dixon and Noah.

"She was attacked by a walker." Noah said. "But she said she was okay."

"It's been too long for a walker bite." Rosita added. "Those kill you anywhere from a few hours to a day. It's been a week."

I sat down in between Dixon and Tyrese.

"You're up." Tyrese said.

"Yep." I replied smiling weakly. "Feel free to play the _Rocky_ theme at any time." Everyone, except Dixon, laughed a little.

"How do you feel?" Maggie asked.

"Like a million bucks." I replied. "You know, if a million bucks feels like death." I studied her for a minute. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She said weakly. "Trying to keep you alive's been keeping me busy."

"Glad I could help." I said grimly. I stood up again like a newborn foal, all wobbly and uncoordinated. I used Dixon's head for balance, an act I was sure he didn't appreciate. As soon as I was sure I could walk, I headed toward the woods.

"You should be resting." Glenn said when I had only taken a couple of steps.

"Glenn," I said, turning around to look at him. "I'm pretty sure I haven't peed in, what, a week? I need to pee." Glenn made a face that made me laugh.

"You can't go alone." Maggie said, standing up. "You may be walking but I don't think you're walker-killing ready."

I shrugged and the two of us walked into the forest.

"Are you really okay?" I asked her.

"No, but I will be." Maggie replied. "You being sick really has helped. It's given me a reason to keep going."

"I get that." I sighed, stepping behind a tree for privacy. "But when I get better you're going to need a new reason."

"I know." Maggie replied. "And that's Glenn, but for the first few days, I needed something more. Something that reminded me I was really needed, get me?"

"Yeah." I replied, finishing up. "You felt useless because you couldn't save Beth and then you needed to feel useful, I'm glad I could help." I walked back out from behind the tree and used up whatever was left of my energy. "I'm just going to sit for a minute, cool?" I asked breathlessly. I sat down at the base of the tree without a response from Maggie and closed my eyes and rested my head against the tree.

"You okay?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, just got really tired." I murmured. "Did I throw up at all? I usually throw up a lot when I get sick."

"No, you mostly slept, hummed, and tried to kill people." Maggie replied. I could hear the smile in her voice.

I winced. "I didn't mean to try to kill anyone. I just couldn't tell what was real and what was a dream. I have to thank Tyrese for rising to the challenge of helping a little white girl get better." As I smiled at the mental image my words conjured, I felt myself starting to fall back asleep. "Okay, yeah, no, I have to get back, I'm falling asleep."

Maggie swooped down and helped me stand up just as we heard a yell from deeper in the woods. The sun was starting to set and it was getting dark.

"We can't." I murmured.

"It sounded like a kid." Maggie murmured back.

"I know." I pulled out my knife. "Lead the way."

"Don't be a hero." Maggie warned.

"You don't be a hero." I replied. Maggie lead the way toward the yelling sounds. I looked back but it didn't seem like anyone else had heard the yelling. Maggie and I stepped into a small clearing and saw a little kid trying and failing to fight off a walker. Maggie quickly ran over and stabbed the corpse in the head.

"There aren't anymore around here." I called. "But there might be more coming."

Maggie slung her arm across the boy's shoulders. "What's you're name?" I was looking back the way we had come just in case one of our group was coming to check on us.

"Cody." The boy said. "My name's Cody."

My heart stopped and my veins filled with ice.

"Cody, that's a nice name." Maggie said. "Where's you're group, Cody?" I turned back around and studied the little boy. He had flaming red hair and green eyes. Just like me. The only one of my brothers who looked like me.

"He doesn't have a group, Maggie." I said. "He's my brother."

 **Author's Note: Okay, as you can probably tell, Mel is immune to the walker infection. She gets a little sick, because it is in fact a virus that turns everyone into walkers, but now that she's been exposed to the virus, it won't hit her as hard if there's a next time, like getting vaccinated. Now what I really want to know is how you feel about the end there with Mel's brother showing up. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	57. Chapter 57

"You're brother?" Maggie asked incredulously.

"Mel?" Cody stared at me for a second then lunged at me, almost knocking me down.

"Hey, be careful." I said, chuckling. "I'm sick and wobbly." Cody smiled up at me and I noticed he was a whole hell of a lot older than I remember him.

"How'd you get here?" Maggie asked.

"I was watching TV and..." Cody started but I cut him off.

"You fell asleep and woke up here." I finished. Cody nodded. "The same thing happened to me."

"So that's where you went three years ago!" Cody said excitedly.

"Three..." I said breathlessly. "How old are you, Cody?"

"Almost nine." He replied.

I looked up at Maggie. "He was five the last time I saw him." Maggie pursed her lips together and suddenly I felt guilty. What did I do to deserve to get my brother back? What did Maggie do to have her father and sister taken away from her? This wasn't fair. I pushed Cody away from me and looked into his face. This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair at all. I don't deserve this.

"We should get back, it's getting dark." Maggie said.

"The fuck are we gonna tell people?" I asked, still staring at Cody. "I told Tara that my entire family died. No one else that came after the farm ever asked except her. What are we going to tell them?" I looked up at Maggie, my eyes watering. I felt ridiculously guilty, but I was also so happy I could have started singing like a Disney princess.

"The truth." Maggie replied. "That's all we can do." She lead the way back through the woods and I held Cody close, both to make sure he was still there and because I felt dizzy. When we got back to camp, I was too tired to talk so Maggie explained.

Needless to say, no one except the original group believed her.

"You seriously expect us to believe that?" Rosita asked. "That we are in a TV show and that Mel and her brother fell asleep watching it and woke up here?"

"Yes." I said simply. "Because it's the truth."

"You said you're dad was in the military." Tara said. "You said you're entire family died."

"Because if I had told you the truth, you wouldn't have believed me." I replied.

"You got that right." Tara huffed.

"What happened in the episode you watched?" I asked.

Cody looked nervously at Maggie. "Beth died." He said quietly.

I nodded. "How could he know that, Tara? How?"

"I don't know, you told him." Tara replied.

"Oh, yeah, no, the first thing I'm going to tell the little brother I never thought I'd see again is that one of my best friend's sister died." I snapped. "Yeah, nice little family reunion that would be." I glared at Tara.

"Okay, okay." Rick said. "Just calm down." Our group was torn in half. Rick, Dixon, Carl, Carol, Maggie, Glenn, Cody and I were standing to one side of the campfire while everyone else were on the other side.

"It's true." Glenn said. "It sounds crazy, but it ended up being true. Mel knew things that she couldn't have possibly known. Which means Cody here probably knows things he can't know."

"Like Daryl's a bad ass." Cody whispered at me.

"Nope, no. Do not call him that." I whispered back, smiling. "It'll go to his head." Almost like he heard us, Dixon looked at me then down at Cody. He had this funny look on his face, almost like he was jealous.

"What's in D.C.?" Abraham asked.

"Nothing." Cody replied.

"Who killed Beth?" Abraham continued.

"Dawn, then Daryl killed her."

"Where's Noah's family?" Abraham crossed his arms across his chest.

"Virginia." Cody studied him. "Did I pass? Like when you asked people how many walkers they've killed, how many people they've killed, and why they killed them?"

"Yeah, kid, you passed." I said, rubbing his head the way he liked. "Can we all sit down please? I'm exhausted." Everyone mumbled various forms of "yes" and "yeah." I didn't think everyone believed our story, but I hoped they had at least accepted it.

I sat down with Cody on my left side and Carl sat on my right. Carl reached out and took my hand and started chatting with Tara who would glance at Cody and I every once in a while.

"Why's he holding your hand?" Cody whispered.

"Oh, um." I paused then took a deep breath. "It's because I've been through a lot and he just wants to make sure I know I'm not alone." I looked up and saw Dixon watching us from the other side of the campfire. When we made eye contact, he looked away. I clenched my jaw together and tried to ignore it.

Cody didn't ask anymore questions about Carl holding my hand and I thanked God for that. Not long after the sun set, Rosita called first watch and everyone else curled up on the ground to sleep. Maggie tried to get me to go back into the station wagon but I refused and curled up with Cody on the ground.

I severely regretted not sleeping in the station wagon. The events of the day before had completely wiped me out and I even slept through someone picking me up and putting me in the back of the car. Half way through the day, I woke up and saw Carl and Cody talking to each other in the seat in front of me. Carol was driving and Sasha was in the passenger seat. Gabriel was squeezed in with Cody and Carl, and I was sprawled on Maggie and Glenn's laps. Everyone else were in the other car.

"How do you feel today?" Maggie asked. "You've slept most of the time, it's almost night."

I shrugged. "Better than yesterday, despite all the sleeping. A few more days and I'll be right as rain."

Maggie nodded. "Good."

"Cody and Carl are getting along." Glenn added. "And we're headed up to Virginia for Noah."

"Hmm, okay." I looked out the window. "Maybe I'll be well enough to go when you guys try to find his family." I looked back at Glenn and he smiled and nodded. After a couple more hours, Carol stopped the car and everyone, even me, climbed out.

"Hey, Mel." Tyrese called from the other car.

"Yeah?" I said, walking over to him.

"Would you mind if I taught your brother some stuff?" Tyrese asked. "Like, walker killing stuff, he's going to need to know."

"Yeah, sure." I said, smiling. "Wish someone would have taught me how to kill walkers." I swung half my body around to glare at Glenn.

"You learned!" He defended himself.

I shook my head and turned back to Tyrese. "I'd appreciate it, dude." I hit his chest with the back of my hand and walked back to camp. I really was feeling better. Maybe I was in the final stretch of the sickness.

"Imma see what I can find." Dixon told Rick.

"Can I come?" I asked. "I still wanna learn to track and stuff."

"Nah, I got it." Dixon replied, then, without another word, walked into the woods. I narrowed my eyes after him but didn't say anything.

"Do you kill walkers, Mel?" Cody asked.

"Yeah, man." I replied. He was standing next to Carl who was showing him his gun on the other side of the campfire.

"Do you shoot guns?" Cody pressed.

"Yep." I nodded.

"You never liked guns." Cody said sadly.

I shrugged. "I had to get over it."

Dixon brought back some squirrels and a possum and I finally had my appetite back. I made sure Cody didn't fuss about the food, he was almost as bad a picky eater as I had been. The nightly routine was pretty much set in stone and someone took first watch while the rest of us went to sleep.

"You're different." Cody whispered to me after he was sure everyone else was asleep.

"I know." I whispered back. "I had to change in order to survive. I'm not the same Mel I was... was it really three years ago?"

"Yeah." Cody nodded.

"Well, it's only been about a year and a half here, maybe more maybe less." I sighed. "No one's keeping track. That must be why you're a lot older now."

Cody rested his head on my chest.

"Do you miss the old Mel?" I asked after a moment.

"I don't know, I need to get to know this Mel, first." Cody replied, then gently fell asleep.

"I don't think you're going to like this Mel." I whispered, then spent the rest of the night laying awake and holding my baby brother close to my chest.

 **Author's Note: Okay, so how do you guys feel about Cody? I was regretting it earlier but now I think it's going to be okay. Alrighty, please leave a review and have an nice day!**


	58. Chapter 58

In the two weeks it took us to get to Virginia, I saw a lot of improvement in Cody. He still hadn't killed a walker, but I knew that if he was ever faced with one I wouldn't have to save him, he would be able to take care of himself.

When we finally made it to Virginia, I offered to join Glenn, Rick, Michonne, Tyrese, and Noah.

"You're going to leave me?" Cody asked.

"We'll be back." I replied. "Stay here, Maggie'll watch you." I looked at Maggie who nodded and smiled down at Cody.

Cody glared at me. "You better come back." He warned.

"I will, I promise." I said, hugging him. Cody had the right idea. If Beth's death taught us anything, it was that no one was guaranteed a life. I promised I'd come back, but the fact of the matter is, no one could be sure if any of us were coming back.

Everyone said goodbye to each other then Glenn and I climbed into the back seat of the station wagon, Rick and Michonne were in the middle seats, Tyrese was driving, and Noah was passenger so he could direct Ty as to where to go. Once we had been driving in silence for a while, I decided to make conversation.

"Hey, thanks for showing Cody how to fight and stuff." I called from the back.

"No problem." Tyrese called back. "From where I stood, he was going to need as much help as possible."

"No kidding." I sighed, leaning back in the seat. "Okay, so in the hopes of keeping this conversation nice and light, I propose we play a game."

"What kind of game?" Michonne asked.

"I spy with my little eye, something green." I said, looking out the window.

"Tree." Noah said.

"You're looking out the wrong window." I sighed.

"Oh, oops." Noah turned away from the passenger side window and looked out the driver side window. "Tree."

"Dammit, Noah." I groaned. Everyone started laughing. For the rest of the trip, Noah and Tyrese talked about how Tyrese's dad had made him listen to the radio, which was only interrupted when Rick asked how far away Noah's home was.

"Hey, how do you feel about your brother being here?" Glenn asked, nudging me.

"I hate it." I replied. "I really hate it. I was nothing back home, I wasn't good at anything and I had nothing going for me. Here, I'm probably the best me I've ever been, even though I've killed people. Cody... I don't think this world is going to agree with him. I don't think he's going to become a better person, I think he's going to be ruined."

"You killed people?" Glenn stared at me. It was then that I realized that the only people who knew I had killed anyone here Michonne, Rick, Carl, and Dixon.

"Uh, yeah." I said nodding. "It was before Terminus. I had run into them and they... hurt... me and then they ran into Dixon, then they ran into Michonne, Rick, and Carl and I had to kill them or they would have hurt Carl, Rick, Michonne and they were already beating the crap out of Dixon..." I trailed off murmuring, "They deserved it. They deserved it." as I looked back out the window. Glenn slung his arm across my shoulder and gave me a weird hug.

"If you say they deserved it, I believe you." Glenn assured me. "Is that why Carl keeps holding your hand?"

"Yeah, leaving Terminus, I couldn't kill this one walker that was attacking him." I sighed. "Lucky Michonne was there or we'd be down a Carl."

Glenn nodded and we stopped talking. Tyrese pulled into the woods and put the car in park. He shut off the engine and everyone climbed out of the car.

"This is good, it'll look like the wreck." Rick said. There was a truck right in front of us with another station wagon that must have been shot off the road right next to it. There was a walker still inside the car and I had the overwhelming erge to kill it. To just put the person it once was out of it misery.

"Hey, c'mon." Glenn said. I followed the group through the woods with Noah and Rick in the lead. We made it to a group of trees with wires running from tree to tree to tree.

"Did your group do this?" Rick asked.

"We wanted to." Noah replied. "I guess they did."

"I feel like a spy from one of those movies." I said, carefully making my way through the wire. "If anyone wants a martini, you're gonna have to survive on air and water 'cause we are fresh out of any and all alcohol." Rick shook his head at me and we kept walking through the forest. Finally, we saw a brick wall in the distance.

"There, that them?" Rick asked.

"Yeah." Noah nodded and Glenn and went ahead of the group to see what we can see.

"There's a hole in the wall." I said. "Over there." I pointed to the left, toward a section of the wall that had caved in slightly. It wasn't a huge hole, walkers probably had no chance at getting inside, but it wasn't a good sigh. I looked around at Glenn and he looked worried.

"There's a fence down that way." Glenn pointed the other way.

"Then let's go that way." I lead the way back to the group and told them about the toppled section of the wall and the fence we should use to get inside. We ran down that side of the wall and over to the fence.

"Take a look." Rick said, nodding at Glenn and me. It had been so long since Glenn and I had gone on runs together. It had always been the two of us running around and finding things after the farm. We had been a pretty good team. Glenn locked his hands together and gave me a boost to look over the wall. I shoved my feet into openings in the brick and pulled myself up and looked over the other side.

 **Author's Note: Alrighty, please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	59. Chapter 59

It was gone. The whole place was gone. There were walkers shambling about and a lot of the buildings looked burned and ransacked. My heart dropped into my stomach and tears pricked my eyes. Noah tried to be as nonchalant about the whole thing, but we all knew just how important it was for him to get here and to find his family. He was going to be crushed.

I pushed myself off the wall and looked down at our little group. Everything that needed saying was written on my face.

"No." Noah said. "No." He climbed up the wall and jumped down the other side. "No!" I climbed over the wall, Glenn right behind me.

"Noah." I said. He collapsed on the ground and started balling. "Noah." I walked over to him and sat down. I hugged him as Rick and Michonne killed a few walkers that were headed our way.

"We should look for stuff we could use." Michonne said in her quiet, careful voice.

"You three go, we'll stay here." Tyrese said. I let go of Noah and stood up. Rick, Michonne,and Glenn, with some hesitation, walked away while Noah continued to cry on the floor and Tyrese and I watched for walkers.

When I was sure Tyrese wasn't watching, I reached back and touched the walker bite. I suspected it was all the antibiotics I had to take when I was sick that somehow kept the bite from getting infected. Now it was just a bunch of nodules in a weird circle. I pressed the nodules like I was playing a piano until Tyrese got my attention.

"What are you doing?" He asked. I turned around, quickly dropping my hand.

"Um, nothing, just..." I trailed off when I realized I had no good excuse.

Tyrese studied me. "How did you get so sick?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"Your brother said you didn't get sick very often."

"I don't know, Tyrese." I shrugged again. "I just did, okay?" I really didn't want to tell anyone I was immune. I already felt crazy guilty because I got Cody back right after Maggie lost Beth, I didn't want to make it worse by saying something like, "Hey guys, if I get bit, I'll be fine, but if you get bit, you're as good as dead!"

Suddenly, Noah stopped crying and started running.

"Noah?" Tyrese called after him. "Noah!" Tyrese and I started running after Noah until he finally stopped in front of a house with the door broken in.

"This is my house." Noah said breathlessly.

"Let me." Tyrese said as Noah tried stepping forward. Tyrese pulled out a knife from his belt and walked up to the door. He hit the door frame a few times and, when no walkers shambled out, we walked inside. On the floor of the living room there was a corpse and by the look on Noah's face, it was his mother. He crouched next to the body and picked up a blanket. He laid the blanket over his mother's body, then just sat and stared. Tyrese made a gesture and pointed down the hall with his head. I nodded and he walked away. I watched Noah as he sat with his mother.

"You said you had two twin brothers, right?" I asked.

"Yeah." Noah choked, his vocal cords still swollen from crying.

"Maybe they made it." I suggested.

"Nah, they were too young." Noah shook his head. "They needed someone to protect them."

We sat in silence for a few minutes more until we heard Tyrese yelling. I pulled out my knife and ran down the hallway and into the last room on the right. Tyrese was pushing a walker away from him and I lunged forward and plunged my knife into its eye. When I turned around, Tyrese was spewing blood from a walker bite on his arm.

"Oh, my God." I said. "Noah, go get Rick and them. Go!" Noah sprinted out of the room and Tyrese collapsed onto the ground. He was looking around like he was seeing thing only he could see.

"It's better now. It's better now." Tyrese murmured.

"What?" I took a deep breath. "Ty, I'm doing this for your own good." I wiped my knife off and grabbed Tyrese's arm.

"No." He said, pushing me away. "No."

"Tyrese, I need to cut your arm off." I said, feeling queasy. I can kill people but I can't cut someone's arm off?

"No." He breathed. "I need to pay the bill. It's better now. Pay the bill. Pay the bill." Tyrese was looking over my shoulder while he was muttering. Suddenly, he pushed me out of the way and started attacking the walker that had appeared out of no where. Tyrese let the walker bite his already bitten arm as I stood up and stabbed it in the back of the head.

"Tyrese?" I asked as he dropped to the ground like the walker before him. His eyes kept darting from place to place, the wall next to him, the bed, the chest of drawers against the other side of the room, the doorway to the bathroom, then back again. "Tyrese, I'm going to cut your arm off."

"No, no." He insisted.

"Yes, I have to, for Sasha." I grabbed his arm and pulled it, the copious amount of blood he had lost making him weak. I took my knife and tried to remember biology and what muscles and ligaments in the arm I needed to sever first just as Rick, Michonne, Glenn, and Noah burst into the room.

"Hold his arm out." Rick instructed. I pulled Tyrese's arm taught and Michonne sliced it at the elbow. I tried not to gag as I tossed the piece of Tyrese's arm across the room and Rick and Glenn helped get him up and out of the room. Michonne and I ran ahead to kill any walkers that got too close.

"You good?" Michonne asked.

"Yeah, I've got this." I replied, feeling like I had lied.

"Good." Michonne nodded and sliced a walker's head off. We ran toward the gate, Glenn and Rick switching places with Noah and I as Glenn busted the lock on the gate and walkers stumbled inside. Rick, Michonne, and Glenn killed them in a matter of seconds, then Glenn and Rick were picking Tyrese up again. I took one last look around and saw white spray paint on a tiny brick wall in front of a house. "Wolves not far," it said. I huffed air out my nose and ran after everyone.

We managed to get Tyrese to the station wagon with only a few snags, but he didn't make it very far.

 **Author's Note: Alrighty, please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	60. Chapter 60

"Hey." Carl came up next to me and took my hand. It had been a week since Tyrese had died. We buried him on the side of the road while Gabriel did his priest thing. We were just six miles away from Washington D.C. when the big white van we had been using in lieu of a bunch of smaller cars had finally run out of gas and we were on foot again. We had been out of water for almost two days now and everyone was feeling it.

"Hey." I said. Cody was walking next to Maggie, he had sort of latched onto her after Tyrese died.

"If I tell you something, do you promise not to get mad?" Carl asked, squeezing my hand.

"Nope." I said. "But go ahead."

"I don't like your brother." Carl replied.

"You don't like him or you're jealous of him?" I asked.

"I guess jealous." Carl admitted. "He's your real brother."

"And, what?" I asked. "That makes him more special than you?"

Carl stayed silent.

I stopped walking and turned Carl to look at me. "We aren't a bunch of strangers anymore, Carl, do you know what that means?"

"We're family now." Carl replied.

"That's right." I nodded. "You're as much my brother as Cody is, so don't you be getting jealous of him, okay?"

"Okay." Carl sighed, squeezing my hand. I took my hand away and drooped it across his shoulders.

We walked for a while longer, still holding hands, until I heard Dixon saying he was breaking off for a bit to look for... well, anything.

"I'll come." I chirped up. I took my arm back and walked over to Dixon.

"No I got it." Dixon said.

"You gonna stop me?" I asked.

"I got it." Dixon insisted in a lower tone. Rick, who had been standing mere feet away, wasn't paying attention to us anymore.

"Fine." I replied, trying not to let it get to me. Ever since I got better and Cody showed up, Dixon had gotten distant. I thought we were getting somewhere, anywhere, but I guess Beth and Tyrese and Cody sort of ruined it. I couldn't blame them, though, it wasn't their fault.

I let Dixon go and he disappeared into the woods.

"You okay?" Rick asked me. Judith squirmed a little in his arms then settled.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I turned to him.

"I don't know." Rick shrugged. "It's a small group, it's not hard to notice stuff like two people getting closer. Remember how it was with Glenn and Maggie?"

"Heh, yeah, they were obvious." I smiled. Those times still sucked, but they were comparatively better than now.

"Is Daryl okay, then?" Rick asked. "Are you?"

"I don't know." I replied. "On both counts. I may not be as fine as I think I am. I think it's all getting to him, though." I looked after Dixon. "I think it's all getting to everyone in varying degrees. We need a miracle."

"I thought you weren't religious." Rick commented.

"Oh, I'm not." I shook my head. "But is it a religious thing to wish for a miracle? Don't tell me you haven't sent the thought out to the universe." I looked pointedly at the baby in his arms. Rick just gave me a look and walked away.

There was a smallish group of walkers right behind us. If we didn't get rid of them, they'd attract more, and then the smallish group of walkers would become a big one, and no one wanted that. Rick organized Abraham, Michonne, Glenn, and Sasha, but they were so exhausted, starved, and dehydrated, they wouldn't have been able to properly take the walkers out, so they were going to trick the walkers into falling into a dried up creek.

The rest of us stayed in the underbrush, I held Judith, and waited for them to finish. From where I was sitting, I had a clear view of what was going on. Sasha, who had seemed relatively fine, went sort of crazy. She started stabbing and attacking the walkers with energy she couldn't have afforded to lose. Michonne had to push her down to get her to stop.

When all the walkers were dead, we kept moving. Dixon came back empty handed and we walked and walked and walked. Before too long we came upon some cars stopped in the road. None of them worked and they all seemed tapped out of useful supplied.

"We'll stay here tonight." Rick said. Just as the words left his lips, a small pack of feral dogs came out of the bushes and started barking at us. Within minutes, Sasha had killed them all. We cooked up the dogs and ate them for dinner.

"I never thought I'd eat a dog." Cody commented as he was sitting down next to me. "Do you remember that dog we had a few years ago? You called him Satan."

"You had a dog named Satan?" Tara asked.

"Uh, no." I defended myself. "His name was Dozer. I called him Satan because he was Satan in a dog suit."

Tara shook her head.

"One of those dogs reminded me of him." Cody continued. "He died, though."

I shrugged. "Life sucks then you die. What are you gonna do?"

"Survive?" Rosita suggested.

I snapped my fingers and pointed at her. "You are a thinker, Rosita!"

She stared at me for a second. "I really have no idea what to do with you sometimes."

"Don't do anything with me." I replied. "You know you'd hate it if I changed."

We all quieted down after that and settled down to sleep under the stars. Cody curled up next to me and fell asleep almost immediately. I hadn't properly slept in days. The world had slowed down and now every time I closed my eyes I saw Beth's dead body. I saw Tyrese's dead body. I saw the dead bodies of the men I killed. I dreamt about what they did to me before I killed them. I couldn't sleep anymore. I didn't want to sleep anymore. I didn't want to be awake anymore, either. I wanted to be nothing. And that thought scared me. That thought scared me more than even the walkers.

 **Author's Note: Alrighty, so I know it's been a hella long time since I posted. I was getting pretty good at posting semi-regularly, but then my semester ended (didn't get strait A's but I passed all my classes whoop whoop) and then I hit writer's block head first. But here it is, the next chapter and I'm going to try to post more often now that it's summer time. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	61. Chapter 61

I watched the sun come up and make it impossible to see the stars in the sky. I waited until more people started stirring and waking up before getting up. We ate what was left of the dogs and then started walking again. That's all that was left these days, walking.

I was walking closer to the front of the group with Carl on one side holding my hand and Cody on the other staring jealously at Carl. I figured I was going to have to have a talk with Cody, too, about Carl, but before I decided on anything, I looked over my shoulder and watched Dixon head into the woods. I let go go of Carl's hand and he looked at me with a question on his face.

"Dixon headed into the woods." I explained. "I'm gonna go after him, that okay?" Carl nodded then turned to face Cody. The two of them went their separate ways and I sighed to myself. I followed Dixon through the woods until he stopped in a small clearing with a barn at one end.

"I know your back there." He mumbled over his shoulder. I walked out of the trees and stood next to him. "Go back."

"No." I replied.

"Mel..."

"I know you're not okay." I replied. "No one's okay anymore. Okay is on another planet."

Dixon didn't say anything. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He put a cigarette into his mouth and lit it. I reached out and took the lighter from his hand and clicked it. There was just the tiniest hint of blue at the bottom where the flame first started. I played with the flame while Dixon smoked his cigarette.

"That's a good place to stay if somethin' happens." Dixon said after he finished.

"Yeah it is." I nodded, looking up. I let the flame go out on the lighter and handed it back.

"You smoke?" He asked me.

"Nah."

"Then how do you know how to work a lighter?" He pulled out another cigarette.

"I was a pyromaniac." I replied. "Remember at Hershel's farm when I burned the barn down? Yeah, I did that a lot back home. Got arrested a couple of times for it before I got good at sneaking. After that they all assumed it was me burning the barns down but they had no proof. I even accidentally killed a neighbor's horse, once. I wouldn't have burned the barn down if I had known there was a horse inside."

I paused and silence settled around us like a shroud.

I heard Dixon sniffle and I looked over at him. He was tearing up a little and I wrapped my arm around his waist.

"It was just a horse." I said, knowing full well he wasn't crying about the horse.

Dixon sobbed a little. "I'm jus' tired of losin' people."

"We all are." I replied.

"No, you got Cody." Dixon replied. He walked away and turned to glare at me. "You got your brother. I lost mine and so did Sasha. Maggie lost Beth. And Hershel."

"I lost those people, too." I shot back. "Okay, maybe not Merle, but Tyrese and Beth were my friends, too. They were my family, too." I took a deep breath. "Cody may be here, but I don't have him. I'm different now than I was then. I... I think... I think I hate him, actually. I think I hate my baby brother."

Dixon stared at me. "Why?"

I didn't respond. I loved him and I was so happy to see him again, but after a few days he began to wear on me. Watching him train with Tyrese, it was like watching him play on the Wii. He wasn't taking it seriously and he was going to pay dearly for it. Lucky for him we hadn't run into a huge herd or any other sort of trouble. If trouble did find us, it wouldn't have matter what I or anyone else did, Cody would be the first to die. I couldn't afford to love him because he could die tomorrow.

Suddenly, Dixon wrapped his arms around me and I wrapped mine around his waist. He cried quietly into my shoulder and I squeezed him. After a few minutes, Dixon let go and we started back to the group, holding hands.

Right before we broke through the trees, Dixon let go of my hand. Everyone was standing in a circle around a small group of bottles and jugs of clear water.

"Why..." I started but Rick cut me off.

"We don't know who left it." He said. "It may not be safe."

"It could be poisoned." Carol added.

I walked over to the bottles and jugs and picked one up.

"If it is a trap, then we are already in the middle of it." Eugene added.

I inspected the bottle and saw that the top was sealed. Like actually sealed straight from the factory.

"Guys, their sealed." I said. I picked up the other bottles and saw that they were sealed, too. Thunder rumbled, resonating in my chest, as I held a bottle of water out to Rick. "Look, still sealed." He took the bottle and inspected it for himself.

"They could have..." He started.

"No they couldn't have." I interrupted. "If the bottles had been tampered with we'd be able to tell." I picked up another bottle and twisted the top, hearing the familiar crack of breaking plastic. The vacuumed air let out and the bottle became squishy. "See." I said.

"Don't drink that." Rick warned. I danced away from him and took a swig of water.

"Mmm." I said, smiling at him. "Tastes just fine." Rick glared at me. I turned and handed the bottle to Abraham. "Here."

Abraham stood stoic and solid, refusing to take the bottle.

I sighed as another thunder clap rang out. I looked up just as the clouds opened up and rain poured out of the grey clouds in the sky. The rain was cold and refreshing. I opened my mouth to catch the water and smiled. It felt amazing, but after a few minutes the rain started really pouring. It was getting harsher, the wind started picking up, and it was getting dangerous to be outside.

"I know somewhere we can stay." Dixon yelled over the racket. Rick nodded and we all made our way through the woods to the barn Dixon and I had found earlier that day. Once inside and dry, we all settle down, with the bottles of water, and built a small fire while the storm raged outside.

 **Author's Note: Okay, another chapter update today, I feel like I owe it to all of you who like my story to post more than one chapter after keeping silent for so long. So, please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	62. Chapter 62

Thunder didn't scare me so much as freak me out a little. It rumbled in my chest and resonated there, shaking me to my core. That meant I didn't sleep very well. Every time thunder cracked I jumped and woke up. At one point, Dixon came over and sat next to me. Not too close, oh no, Dixon was all emotioned out after crying on my shoulder today, but he was close enough that when I jerked awake I could look over and see that he was close enough to reach out and touch. It was comforting in and of itself.

Finally, the thunder stopped rumbling and morning started to break. Most everyone was still asleep when I decided to get up and go outside. My bladder was about to explode and I couldn't wait for anyone to wake up. Even Dixon had fallen asleep and I though he could use it. Outside, it looked like giants had stomped around and pulled trees up out of the ground and threw them down. There were walkers impaled on branches but none seemed to be an immediate threat.

After relieving myself, I walked over to a tree that had fallen, sat down and enjoyed the sun rise. It had been a long time since I had watch the sun go up. I hadn't even done it at the prison. Ooh, that reminds me, I wanted to tell Rick what I had named the prison. Before I got the chance to go inside, someone called out.

"Hello." It was a man, thank God. Just a man.

I immediately pulled out the gun in the back of my waistband and pointed it at the guy.

"Good morning." He said. "I just want to talk."

"State your name and business." I said, my voice coming out weaker than I had wanted it to. Memories of the last time I was ambushed by a guy spilled into my brain, making me go weak. It was getting harder to breath, like there were stones in my lungs.

"My name's Aaron." He said. "I just want to talk. Here I have-" He started to swing his backpack off his shoulder but I jerked the gun. "Sorry, sorry."

"Slowly." I said. He slowly took his backpack off his back and placed it on the ground. "Toss it over here." He tossed the backpack over to me. I kept the gun pointed at his chest as I crouched down and searched the back. Pictures. Basic supplies. A flare gun. A jar of applesauce.

"I call the applesauce." I stated. I stood up, the gun still pointed at Aaron's chest. "I'm going to pat you down now." I warned him. I tucked my gun back into my waistband patted him down. Except for the flare gun, all he had was a small gun with six bullets and some knives on his person. I took his gun and knives and held them in my hands, making sure he knew that I would use them if given half a chance.

"Okay, you're clean." I studied him. "Why are you here? And I'm going to tell you right now, I'm very good with knives."

"I want to take you all to my... camp, I guess you can call it." Aaron explained. He still had his hands up. "But it's more like a community. My partner and I go out and find people to bring them back, to make the community stronger. Most of us had been there since the beginning. Most of us don't really know how to fight. We need people like you and your group, you know how to defend yourselves. I've been watching you-"

"You've been watching us?" I interrupted.

"Yes, and listening." Aaron continued. "Mostly listening."

"Thanks for your honesty." I replied sarcastically.

Aaron smiled a little. "We needed to make sure you were good guys, that you were safe to bring back. I have to admit, I didn't think you and your group were worth it."

"What changed your mind?" I asked.

"The baby." Aaron replied. "I don't know of many people, before or after the world ended, who would save a baby."

"Now I'm skeptical."

"Skeptical of what" He asked. "If I'm telling the truth or not? I assure you I am."

"I'm skeptical that you're lying." I replied. I couldn't explain it, but I liked this guy, kind of. I wasn't sure about the surveillance thing, but so far he hadn't given me a reason not to believe him. I dug around the backpack again and found the pictures. They were of a good looking community, I mean really good looking. Too good. The pictures were black and white, but the houses looked clean.

"You have a wall?" I asked.

"Yeah." He informed. "They're thick and strong and made of steel. Fifteen feet high. Reinforced with cold rolled steel beams. Nothing, alive or dead, gets in without our say so."

"Beautiful." I murmured. Walls were good, really good. Especially for Judith. She could grow up there, be safe there. We could all live there. Then I noticed something.

"You don't have any pictures of your group." I commented.

"The one we took of the whole group didn't come out right." He replied. "Too much exposure, I think it was."

"Well, if Rick, he's our leader, decides we go to..." I looked up at Aaron.

"Alexandria." He supplied.

"Decides that we go to Alexandria, I can take one of everyone." I put the pictures back in the backpack and held it out to him. "I'm a bit of an amateur photographer."

"And pyromaniac." Aaron added.

"You heard that?" I stared.

"Yeah." Aaron laughed and took the backpack from me. "Don't worry, though, I'm not worried, we don't have any horses. And you're going to tell me about Hershel's barn burning thing, right?"

"Oh, yeah." I looked down at my feet. "Some of my best work, I think" Then a thought hit me. "How many walkers have you killed?"

"Um, why?" Aaron asked, confused.

"Please, just answer. Rick'll ask you the questions too but he'll be rougher about it." I insisted.

"Lots." Aaron responded. "Lots of walkers."

"How many people have you killed?"

"Two."

"Why?"

"Because they tried to kill me."

"Okay." I nodded, satisfied. I liked his answers, hopefully Rick'll like them, too. "I'm Mel, by they way, in case your CIA shit didn't tell you."

"Nice to meet you, Mel."

"I have to warn you." I said after I had led him back to the barn. "Tread lightly. No one will hesitate to put a bullet in your head if you make a wrong move. And I have to admit, I won't say anything to stop them. I'm starting to like you, I'll admit, but it'd be a safe assumption to say I like my group even more."

Aaron nodded then I pushed the barn door open.

 **Author's Note: Okay, another day another chapter. Please enjoy, leave a review, and have a nice day!**


	63. Chapter 63

"Um, guys?" I poked my head in.

"There you are." Carol scolded. "You can't just leave like that, you should have taken someone with you."

"Uh... yeah, but everyone was still asleep and I really had to go." I defended myself.

"That doesn't change anything." Sasha interjected. "Next time, wake someone up."

I nodded. "Yeah, okay. Anyway... um..." I looked down at my shoes trying to figure out how to gently ease everyone into (hopefully) accepting Aaron.

"What is it?" Maggie prompted.

I sighed. "Uh, okay, this," I stepped into the barn and gestured for Aaron to follow, "is Aaron. Please don't shoot him... yet." The click of guns followed as everyone, even Cody and Carl, lifted a gun. "And I repeat, please don't shoot him... yet."

"Did you..." Rick started.

"I took his weapons, I checked his-" Dixon pushed passed and started checking Aaron's pockets. "I already did that, Dixon. I checked everything. His pack, his pockets. I took his weapons, a gun and a couple of knives." I held them out. Dixon took them from me and checked the chamber of the gun.

"Six bullets." Dixon said. "Not a lot."

"I talked to him, too." I added. "Just talked. Which is what I'm asking you to do. Rick, just talk to him."

"Did you ask him the question?" Rick asked. As of yet no one had put their guns down or taken their eyes off of Aaron.

"I am insulted, Rick. Insulted." I pressed a hand to my heart in mock offense. "They were good answers."

"Why are you here, then?" Rick asked.

"Ooh, and there's applesauce in his pack." I informed everyone. "I call it. Unless Judith wants some. Then we both call it. Carl, I am looking at you." I pointed at the kid and he could't help the smile that spread across his face.

Rick sorta kinda glared at me. Oh boy was I in trouble.

"What?" I asked, shrugging. "I told you, I checked him. There are pictures of his community in his pack. Houses, _walls_. Most importantly walls. Nice big walls." I held my arms up to emphasize the word "big." "You have to know I would't bring someone who posed a threat back here. Not with Judith or Carl or Cody."

Rick nodded just once and I walked toward one side of the barn. Carl came over to stand by me, prompting a dirty look from Cody. Carl stood next to me and held my hand.

"Do you trust that guy?" He whispered to me while Rick and Aaron carried on a conversation.

"I don't know." I replied. "But my gut's telling me to give him a shot."

"If you trust him, I trust him." Carl said. I smiled.

Thankfully, all Rick and Aaron did was talk. Aaron explained how he had been watching and listening to us, just to make sure we were safe to bring back. That caused Rick to take a step forward to which I made a warning cough. He only glance over his shoulder at me and kept talking like a civilized person.

"Mel, what do you think?" Rick turned to me. He had this look in his eyes. Defiance. Skepticism. Fear. "Think it's worth a shot?"

"Anyone else think it's worth a shot?" Rick turned around and looked at everyone.

The phrase, _this isn't a democracy any more_ echoed through my head.

"Yes." Michonne said.

"Yeah." Glenn added.

"We should go." Maggie interjected. "For Judith if anything. They have kids there. And walls."

"I'm with Maggie." Sasha piped up.

"Yes." Noah added.

"How do we know he's telling the truth?" Abraham asked.

"If he had been lying," I said, "I would have killed him myself."

"Really?" Abraham looked at me.

"Really, my Ginger Compadre." I replied. Carl snorted.

"Then I am in." Abraham turned to Rick.

"Seriously?" I asked, staring at him.

"Seriously." Abraham replied, then quietly added, "My Ginger compadre."

I snorted and did my very, ultimate best to keep my laugh inside.

Rick split us all up. He, Glenn, and Michonne were going to go with Aaron to his car. The rest of us were going to take the RV Aaron said they had brought specifically to take back anyone they found on the road. But first, Rick wanted to make sure it was there.

Rick sent Maggie, Glenn, Michonne, Abraham, and Rosita to check out the RV. When they got back and said that the RV was there and full of food, we all split up.

Glenn, Rick, Michonne, Aaron and I went in the car Aaron had driven here while everyone else got in the RV. I sit in between Michonne and Aaron in the back seat, Glenn was driving, and Rick was passenger. We sat in silence, the RV following along behind us.

"You got any CDs in here?" I asked. "This quiet is deafening."

"No." Aaron replied. "If you can believe it, I prefer the quiet."

"Well I feel like my eardrums are going to explode." I huffed. I looked out the window where Michonne was and watched the dark forms of trees pass by.

"Have you actually killed people?" Aaron asked me quietly. "Would you have actually killed me?"

"Yes, I've killed people." I replied. "The only person in this car who hasn't killed someone is Glenn. Yes, I probably would have killed you if you had been lying or posed a threat. Believe me when I say, though, I would have felt bad about it."

"But you don't feel bad about the other people you killed." He stated.

"I call bullshit on the saying, 'the meek shall inherit the earth.'" I replied. "It should go more like, 'assholes shall inherit the earth.' It'd make more sense."

Suddenly, Glenn yelp and we slammed into something. Blood splattered on the wind shield. I screamed as the car collided with more and more and more walkers, splattering so much blood onto the windshield that we couldn't even see out of it. Finally, after spinning a few times, the car came to a halt.

"I couldn't stop, the RV would have hit us." Glenn was saying. I turned around in my seat.

"It looks like they made it out." I informed everyone. "They're gone, they probably got away."

"We need to get back on the rode then." Rick gave Glenn directions... except the car wasn't moving. I pushed past Aaron and hopped out of the car. The road was free of walkers for now, but I knew they were coming. There were appendages and guts and things stuck under the hood of the car. There was so much blood that the headlights were red. I pulled out a few arms, but there was no way this car was going anywhere. There was just too much gunk stuck in it.

I ran over to Glenn's door and opened it. "The car's not going anywhere and we have to move." Glenn nodded and hopped out of the car. Next was Michonne, Aaron, and Rick. Just then, a flare shot into the sky next to a water tower in the distance.

"We have to go." Aaron said. "I have to go. Now."

"We have to find our people." Rick said.

"If they saw the flare they might think we shot it." Michonne said. "Follow the flare, we find our people."

"Why are we even still talking about this?" I asked. "Let's go!" Then we ran into the trees with God knew what before us and walkers at our backs.

 **Author's Note: Alrighty, here's the next chapter. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	64. Chapter 64

We ran through trees, killing walkers left and right. I tried not to focus on what I was doing. I had been choking on my walker kills for a while now and I couldn't afford to choke now.

Rick and Glenn were popping off rounds left and right. Michonne was slaying with her sword and I was talking down walkers with a hatchet I had found in the barn. We slowed down a little when the coast seemed to be clear. That's when Aaron got ahead of us. After a few more minutes, we lost him completely. And his hands were still bound.

"We have to find Aaron." I said, just loud enough for the others to hear but (hopefully) not loud enough for walkers.

"He's on his own." Rick replied.

"His hands are bound." I shot back. "If we leave him it'll be like killing him ourselves."

"You have to choose." Michonne said. "Aaron or Glenn, because he's missing too."

"What?" I swung around to look at Michonne just as a walker lurched out of the woods right behind her. I swung my hatchet around and bashed it into the walker's skull, earning a grateful glance from Michonne.

"Glenn." I told her as the walker's body slammed into the ground. "I will always choose us." Michonne nodded once.

"Let's go, then." Rick said. We kept running.

There was a small horde of walkers following us that we couldn't shake. We turned around and I pulled out the flare that I had been carrying at my hip.

"Fire in the hole." I called, shooting the flare. It landed in a walker's eye making its head erupt in sparkles. Michonne stepped forward to slice, I diced with my hatchet, and Rick shot off the rest of his rounds. He pulled out his machete and hacked a couple of walkers when gun shots started going off. Suddenly the walkers were full of bullet holes and were dropping like flies. Once they were gone, I looked up to see Glenn and Aaron standing there holding up guns.

"If you want to tie me up again that's fine just hurry." Aaron said, putting his revolver on the ground.

"No time." Rick replied. "We're going that way." The he lunged toward the trees and the rest of us followed. We ran for I don't know how many more minutes before making it onto the road we were supposed to have gotten on.

"Where are they?" Rick asked Aaron threateningly.

"I don't know." Aaron replied honestly.

"If this is some sort of trap, you're people are going to die tonight." Rick hissed.

"Don't be so hostile." I said. I was starting to like Aaron, at least, enough that if he died I'd kind of be sad about it a little. Only a little though, he was still a stranger.

Rick glared at me.

"The flare shot up by the water tower." I said. "Go there, they'd probably be there.

Rick glared at me again but lead the way toward the water tower. He'd been on edge since Terminus. I wasn't surprised he was being so hostile, he just wanted to make sure Carl and Judith were safe. But did he have to glare at me so much? I mean, this was hardly my fault.

The town, of course, was deserted. Rick whistled down alleyways and streets, listening for a whistle back. It was out signal that one of our group was showing up. A whistle from the returning party and a whistle from everyone else.

Finally, down on street, we heard the return whistle. I could just barely make out a light in the distance and a person's silhouette. People ran out of the building. Maggie hugged Glenn. Carl cried, "Dad!" and hugged Rick.

"You're sister's okay?" Rick asked Carl.

"Yeah, she's fine, everyone's fine." Carl replied, he couldn't keep the happiness out of his voice. Rick reached over and gave Dixon some lame, bro, lazy version of a high five, Dixon having been the source of the silhouette. Others came out. Carol. Tara. Sasha. Eugene. Everyone came out to say high and to make sure everyone hand their limbs... except Cody.

I was just about to ask Maggie where my brother was when Aaron started calling.

"Eric?" He called. "Eric?!"

"In here." A voice called back from inside the building. Aaron barged through the door, practically shoving Eugene out of the way. Rick looked suspiciously after him and followed Aaron inside.

"Maggie, where's Cody?" I asked.

"He... he's inside." Maggie replied looking sad.

"What?" I asked, staring at her.

Maggie hesitated.

"Out with it, woman." I pushed. The look on Maggie's face made me cringe. I changed my mind. I didn't hate my brother anymore. I loved him more than I had before I came here. If he was dead, that would break me in two. Then I'd know how Maggie felt, except Maggie had Glenn and I had... no one. I didn't have anyone. Carl hated Cody. I told Dixon flat out that I hated Cody. I was visibly keeping my distance. I would have no one to piece me back together if Cody died because no one knew how much he meant to me.

Then Carl said, "He got bit."

I couldn't help the sigh of relief. If I survived a bite, Cody could, too. My soul remained in tact.

I walked past Eugene and into the building. I noticed Rick was lurking in a doorway off to the left. When I looked past him I saw Aaron and probably Eric sitting amid a bunch of candles. They were chuckling. So cute, lovers reunited. Like Glenn and Maggie... if Glenn was a girl or Maggie was a boy.

"Oh, my God Rick you are such a fucking creeper." I whispered to him. "Holy shit what are you doing, obviously they want to be alone."

"No, it's okay." Aaron said. He took one last look at Eric then stood up. He walked out of the room, past Rick and I, and into another room where everyone had already gathered. Rick continued to stare at Eric far longer than he needed to.

"Rick, if you don't stop staring, he's going to think you're gay, too." I hissed then followed Aaron into the other room. Cody was sitting on the floor in a corner and I walked over to him.

"You okay, little buddy?" I asked, sitting down next to him.

"No, I feel horrible." Cody whispered. "Am I going to die?"

"Wanna hear a secret?" I asked. He nodded. "I didn't die."

"What?" He whispered, looking at me.

"I got bit, and I'm okay." I replied quietly so no one could hear. Dixon was only a mere couple feet away. To this day no one knew I had gotten bit. I wanted to keep that a secret for as long as possible, but if Cody survived I was going to have a lot of splainin' to do.

 **Author's Note: Alrighty people of the interwebs, here is yet another chapter in Mel's life. Please enjoy, leave a review, and have a nice day!**


	65. Chapter 65

"Thank you." Aaron said. "Thank you. You saved Eric. I really can't thank you enough. Now, if you guys don't mind, I really don't feel like driving anymore tonight. First thing tomorrow morning, we'll head home. Home to Alexandria."

"Sounds good." Rick said, creeping into the room out of the darkness like a fucking creeper. "But if we're staying, you're sleeping over there." Rick pointed across the room and everyone stared at him like he was nuts.

"Ay, remember when I called you a creeper?" I called. "Yeah, that's a creeper thing of you to do."

Rick glared at me. Always with the glares.

Aaron looked back at me then to Rick. "The only way you're keeping me away from him is by shooting me."

"BTWs, you could have mentioned you were gay." I added. "No one cares, Tara's gay."

"I never mentioned that, though." Tara pointed out.

"How many girls are in this group, Tara?" I asked. "If we had a dictionary and looked up the word 'discreet', there would _not_ be a picture of you."

Tara laughed.

Glenn walked over to Rick. After they talked for a little bit, Rick nodded and told Aaron he could sleep with Eric.

I stood up and walked toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Sasha asked.

"I'll take first watch." I said. I tried to keep walking but Sasha barred my way.

"You're brother got bit." Sasha said.

"What?" Glenn looked at Cody. "When?"

"Not long after we got here." Maggie explained. "There were walkers all around this place. We killed them, but not before Cody..."

"Stay with him." Sasha said. "He doesn't have long." She knew. Because of Bob.

"He'll be fine." I said.

"How can you say that?" Sasha's eyes about popped out of her head.

"Because I was fine." I replied, not registering what I had said until I saw Sasha's face and heard everyone else gasp. I grabbed Sasha's shoulders, shook her, and kind of yelled in her face a little as I shook her.

"Bugger." I said. "Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger."

"You got bit?" Glenn said behind me. "When?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Rick asked. "You could have put everyone in danger."

"I knew what the sickness looked like." I replied. "And... well, I didn't feel so bad. I mean, horrible. Really, really bad, but not like..." I trailed off.

"Not like what?" Rick pressed.

"Like Jim?" I replied. "He was in a sate. Quite a state. I remembered how he described it but I didn't feel that way. I felt like I had the flu. Just a bad case of the flu."

"Jim" Rick murmured. The only people in the room who remembered Jim were Rick, Glenn, Dixon, Carol, and maybe Carl. Everyone else was dead. The original group, from all the way back in season one when I thought all this was a TV show, were dead.

"This was back at the church, wasn't it?" Glenn said. "When we came back and we found out Beth was alive and you were really sick. That's when you got bit."

"Biologically speaking," Eugene interrupted. "you and your brother do not share the same set of chromosomes. That said, the possibility that Cody is immune along with you are very slim."

"But he has a shot." I replied. "Give him a chance."

"And if he dies?" Glenn asked. I looked at him then walked out the front door.

A few hours later, the last person I expected to come out and take watch came out and tried to take watch.

"Did you really get bit?" Carl asked.

"Yep, wanna see the scar?" I looked at him. He nodded. I pulled down my shirt and showed him the scar. The bite had been so deep that there were 32 little knots in an oval, one knot for every tooth.

I felt Carl poke at them. I turned around and saw that he was looking down at the ground.

"What is it, kid?" I asked.

"Nothing." Carl replied.

"No, tell me."

"It's just..." Carl started, paused, then continued. "It's just I wish Eugene had been right. I wish there was a place up here to cure everyone. They could have used you to make it happen. Now the walkers aren't as much of a threat to you 'cause if you get bit, you won't turn."

"I can still get torn apart." I pointed out, shuddering at the thought of getting torn apart.

"Yeah, but you're still lucky." Carl shook his head. "Luckier than Bob and Tyrese and Hershel. They all got bit. Bob died because of it. Tyrese died because Dad got to him too late. And Hershel lost his leg because of it. You're lucky."

"I don't feel that way." I murmured. I slung my arm around Carl's shoulders and we stood and looked around for a few more minutes.

"Daryl wants you to wake him up to take watch."

" _Daryl_ can kiss my ass." I replied. "Go inside and get some sleep." Carl chuckled and walked inside. I reached down into my pocket looking for the lighter I had pick pocketed from Dixon. I clicked it on and watched the flame dance in the slight breeze. I clicked the lighter off then stuck my head back into the building and made sure everyone was asleep before walking away from the door. I headed down the street, holding the lighter in my left hand and the hatchet in my right, just in case.

I walked into an abandoned building. There was just enough light to see by and I found a metal trash can. I found some paper and sticks and stuck them in the trash can. I took a stick and lit the end on fire with a lighter and stuck it in the trash can. I watched the flames carefully lick up the sticks and devour the paper. I watched and sighed as I rubbed the scars on my arms, the ones I had given myself after my other little brother died.

When the fire started attracting walkers and I could see the sun starting to rise through the windows at the top of the building, I headed back. I was just leaning up against the outside of the building when Dixon stuck his head out.

"You were supposed to get me." He said.

"It's fine." I replied. "Nothing happened, anyway, you would have been bored."

Dixon glared at me and walked back inside. I followed and everyone started getting ready to leave. To my relief, Cody made it through the night, though he was sick as a dog.

"He's not as warm as he should be with one of those bites." Maggie informed me. "Technically speaking, he should be dead by now. Maybe you and Cody both inherited the same chromosome." She shot Eugene a look with a smile playing on her lips. Eugene just nodded once then went to hover by Abraham.

Everyone piled into the RV, Eric let Cody take the bed in the back. No one had told Eric or Aaron that Cody had been bit. It looked like he was going to live just like me so there was no point.

After a few minutes, we were on our way to Alexandria.

 **Author's Note: Two chapters in one day and probably one more coming up. I'm in a _The Walking Dead_ mood so while I write this I'm watching _The Walking Dead_ on Netflix. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	66. Chapter 66

The RV stopped going after a while. Glenn told everyone it was just the battery. He showed Abraham, who had been driving, where the new battery was. They hooked it up and we were on our way again.

Noah limped back to where I was laying with Cody and Eric and Aaron were sitting on the other side. Because Eric had given up laying on the bed I had insisted the he elevate his leg on my lap. Maggie told him it needed to be elevated.

"Here." Noah handed Aaron a bottle of pills and some water.

"I know it's time for another dose, but I wanted to let him sleep until we got home." Aaron took the bottles, careful not to jolt Eric awake who was sleeping on his shoulder.

"They're for you." Noah said. "I know how bad those hurt." He nodded toward Aaron's wrists and Aaron nodded his thanks. "How's Cody?" Noah asked me.

I shrugged. "Not great, but I'm sure he'll live."

"We have an infirmary." Aaron told me. "He'll be able to recover there. Eric, too." Noah started limping away when Aaron called him back. "When did that happen?"

"During." Noah replied.

"We have an excellent surgeon in Alexandria." Aaron said. "Maybe he can do something about your leg."

Noah smiled and walked away.

"It sounds like you have everything there." I said, looking over at him.

"Close. Close." Aaron nodded a little. "But we'ere not safe. No one really knows how to fight the roamers."

"We call them walkers." I said.

Aaron smiled. "That works, too. You and your group. You're the first ones we've considered taking in in a while. We need people like you."

"To protect you." I stated.

"Yeah." Aaron nodded. "And maybe even teach us to protect ourselves.

"We can do that." I nodded. "If you and your people prove we can trust you."

"You can trust us." Aaron assured.

"I hope so, Aaron." I replied. "I hope so. For Judith. For Carl. For Cody. For everyone on this RV and in Eric's car. I hope we can trust you. We can't keep running. It's wearing us down. Way down."

We stayed silent after that until I felt the RV stop. I moved out from under Cody and helped Aaron get Eric out of the vehicle. Once they were on the ground, Abraham came back into the RV and picked up Cody. He was wrapped up in a blanket and completely out of it.

"Thanks." I told Abraham.

"You should have said something about being immune." He murmured to me.

"I know, but there's nothing to be done." I replied. "By the time I found out I was immune, we all found out Eugene lied. What good would it have done? What good is it doing you, Compadre?"

"I guess you're right, Compadre." Abraham replied. "It ain't doing anyone 'cept you and Cody any good." I nodded once then led the way out of the RV just as someone was opening the gate and Dixon was shooting an opossum. The man at the gate was staring as Dixon picked it up and turned around.

"We brought dinner." Dixon said. The guy's mouth dropped open.

"Nicholas, Eric needs help." Aaron called. "And they have a kid, he's very sick." Abraham stepped forward with Cody and someone led Abraham and Eric away. I stepped forward to follow Abraham and Cody when I felt someone grab my elbow.

"I'd feel better if you stayed here." Rick murmured. "We know he's going to be okay and you seem to be the only person here human enough to talk to these people. You can be our honorary spokesperson."

"Apologize for being so mean." I replied.

"I'm sorry for being so mean, I was just trying to be cautious." Rick replied, looking away so no one could see his smile.

"That beard covers up your smile pre-tty well, Chewbacca." I commented. "You didn't have to look away." He smiled again then turned his attention to the strangers before us.

"Before you go any farther, I need you to turn in your weapons." The man Nicholas said.

"No." Rick said flat out.

I looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Rick, it's okay, everyone does it." Aaron said. "They're still your weapons, no one's taking them away. When you leave, you can check them out again."

"I think everyone'll feel better keeping them." I said. "Just in case. Besides," I looked around, "if we were going to use them, we would have already."

Aaron studied me then nodded. "At least until after you talk to Deanna."

"Who's that?" I asked.

"She's kind of like our leader." Aaron replied. "I'll show you to her house."

Rick led the way, holding baby Judith in his arms. There were kids running around and playing, laughing and being happy unlike the kids back at Prison Falls. They couldn't be loud because of the walkers. This place seemed safer, though, than the prison. Enough so that the people who lived here felt free enough to laugh.

When we got to Deanna's house, Rick went in first with Aaron. Carl took Judith and the rest of us stood outside and people watched.

"Haven't done this in a while." Dixon murmured to me.

"What?" I asked, looking down at the opossum he was carrying around like a trophy. I guess it sort of was, since I was sure no one here could have shot it.

"People watched." He said. "There're people here."

"Yeah." I said, looking around. "Yeah, this is actually kind of weird. Oh, my God that lady has a dog." I pointed. Then I remembered having eaten dogs on the road up here and got sick to my stomach.

Dixon stared at me.

"What?" I asked. "It's a dog. I like dogs."

"There was a dog at the mortuary." His voice got even quieter. "With Beth. I thought it was the dog when I heard the cans. It was walkers. Then Beth was gone 'n' then she was dead."

"I'm sorry." My voice came out equally quiet then the two of us stood silent.

People went in to talk to Deanna. Dixon. Michonne. Glenn. Carol. Everyone. When it was Carl's turn I caught his arm.

"Hey, don't mention the mom killing thing, okay?" I told him. "That might... it won't look good, okay? I know she was dead and you had to do it so she wouldn't turn into a walker, but don't mention you did it, okay?"

Carl stared at me. "Why?"

"We want them to like us." I replied. "How do you think they'd feel if they found out that they let a bunch of murderers into their community?"

"But some of us are." Carl protested. Judith started fussing and Carl handed her to me. "You've killed people."

"Don't remind me." I said grimly. "And like hell I'm going to tell her that."

"Fine." Carl said. "I won't mention it." Once I had calmed Judith down some I handed her back to Carl.

"Here. It's probably been a while since she's seen a baby." I smiled as Carl walked toward the front door.

"What'd you say to him?" Rick asked me.

"I told him not to mention that he killed Lori." I replied. Rick nodded and watched his son and daughter walk into the building. When he came back out, it was my turn.

 **Author's note: I'm feeling a roll coming on so... Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	67. Chapter 67

"So, you're from Wyoming?" Deanna asked. "How'd you get all the way down here?"

"Fort Benning." I replied. "My dad was stationed there. They all died. Except my brother. And me."

"And then you met everyone." Deanna finished.

"Yep." I nodded, mentally laughing at the fact that that's not how it had actually happened.

"Can I ask what 'Mel' stands for?" She asked. "I assume Mel or Melinda or Melissa."

"No." I looked down at my feet. "Margo. It stands for Margo Emilia with an 'e' Lawrence. I had told my best friend Ross that I hated having an old lady's name so he nicknamed me Mel out of my initials. I almost forgot what my name was. Everyone just calls me Mel."

"Even your brother?" Deanna added. "He's the child in the infirmary, right?"

"Yeah, his name's Cody." I replied. "To be honest, I don't think he knows what my full name is. Ross gave me my nickname in first grade, long before Cody was born."

"So, you know these people better than I do." Deanna continued. "Everyone has a job in this community. Where do you think they all fit?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Dixon... Daryl... would probably be good at what Aaron does. He can tell a walker from a person in the dead of night. Real good at hunting, too. Glenn and I, we were the running team. We went on runs back at Maggie's dad's farm and when we were running after the farm got overrun and when we were living at the prison before that got taken down. Tara could go on runs, too, and Rosita. Maggie would be good working with you, I think, or in the infirmary. She's the voice of reason sometimes and she's good at basic medical needs like broken bones and fevers and stuff. She helped Eric. You said you had solar panels and things? That sounds like a Eugene thing. You need lookouts, you need lookouts bad. Sasha's our best shot. Abraham is a handful but if you need someone sturdy, strong, and bullheaded, he's your man. Rick was a cop before this. He'd be useful. Michonne... I bet she could help Rick or go on runs. She's handy with that sword of hers so probably runs or defense on the wall would be best. Carol... I don't know where Carol fits. She's good at laundry and cooking and stuff but we haven't needed those things a long while. She's never gone on runs, though, she usually stays back with the group. Noah... he hasn't been part of the group for long so I don't know what to do with him. Then there's Gabriel. I'm not religious, gave up on that bullshit a long time ago, but I saw you had a church so..." I trailed off and shrugged. I'd been talking for forever.

"Those are all very useful things, Mel." Deanna said after taking a moment to soak in everything I said. "You, my dear, are the most open person I've talked to today. Everyone else is cautious. Careful. I understand that. You, however, have an ease about you. I like that."

"Thanks." I smiled. "Rick called me the honorary spokesperson today when we walked in. I was the one who convinced everyone to listen to Aaron before hitting him or something."

Deanna smiled. "I'm going to let you go, then, Mel. We have a couple of houses set aside for you and you've given me a lot to think about." Deanna stood up and I followed her lead. She walked me to the door and told me to have a nice day. I felt warm fuzzies in my stomach. It'd been a long time since I'd been told to have a nice day.

"You were in there for a while." Rick said. "What happened?"

"She asked me to tell her jobs for you guys." I replied. "I got talking and couldn't shut up." I turned and saw Aaron. "Can you take me to see my brother?"

"Sure, can I take you all to see the houses first?" Aaron looked around the group.

"Fine, but please make it quick." I begged. We had to stop by the armory to drop off the guns but we were able to keep our knives. Michonne almost made a scene about her katana but finally the woman in charge, Olivia, let her keep the sword. I had to give up the hatchet.

"Both houses are yours, right next to each other." Aaron was explaining. "Explore Alexandria. Deanna's told everyone to let you have your space so they won't all be coming to see you. If you need anything, I'm four houses down. Mel, you ready to go to the infirmary?"

"Yep." I said. Aaron led the way while we chatted about nothing.

"Wow." I said once we got to the infirmary. "I haven't chatted like that in..."

"I know the feeling." Aaron nodded, smiling. "What do you think your job will be here?"

"I don't know." I replied. "Probably runs. I told Deanna where I thought everyone fit because she asked. I said Glenn and I were the running team. Just me and him, it's easier that way. Then she said something about my 'ease.' I don't know. I guess we'll see."

"I guess so." Aaron smiled again. "Pete's a surgeon but he's the only medic we have. Well, except Denise, but she's more of a psychologist. She's working on getting bett You're brother's in better hands than he was."

"Thanks." I said. I patted Aaron on the shoulder and walked inside. There were cots lying around and medical equipment everywhere. Cody was laying on a bed with an IV bag leading into his arm.

"You must be his sister." A man said. "I'm Pete." He held out his hand.

"Mel." I replied, shaking his hand. "How'd you know he was my brother?"

"You look the same." Pete replied. "Are you related to the man who brought him in?"

"Abraham?" I laughed. "No, no, we found him. Or, rather, he found us." I laughed again. "I can see it, though."

"Well, I think I'll leave the two of you alone." Pete looked down at Cody then back up at me. "He'll be fine, by the way. Water and antibiotics in the IV, lots of rest, he should be up and playing with the other kids in no time."

"Thanks, Pete." Once he left I realized I hadn't asked about Eric. He wasn't in the infirmary.

I looked out the widows to make sure no one was looking or about to come in and then I started looking for sutures and gauze and rubbing alcohol. I needed to clean the bite and stitch it up before anyone saw. Cody was still wrapped up in the blanket from the RV so Pete probably had no idea he'd been bitten. I looked on all of Cody's extremities and found the bite on his back. I rolled him onto his side and cleaned up the wound. I stitched the deeper gashes and bandaged the rest. I put a piece of gauze around the whole thing and hoped no one would look at his back.

"Hey, kid." I whispered in his ear after rolling him onto his back. "I'll be back later. Clean up the bite, make sure you're getting better. You're going to be fine, kid." I kissed him on the forehead then left the infirmary.

 **Author's Note: Okay, so that finishes up my roll for the night, because it is in fact 2 a.m. over here. So basically, please leave a review and have a nice day/night/morning/afternoon!**


	68. Chapter 68

That night in the house was amazing. Showers and toothbrushes for all... except Dixon. Damn redneck. No one went to stay in the second house, everyone piled into the living room. Some took chairs, couches, others took the floor. We were good at making tight spaces like this work. I took a shower after seeing Cody and now I was sitting in a corner with Carl.

"I almost forgot what color your hair was." Carl teased.

"Well, there's no mistaking your hair color." I replied. "It's brown, no matter what happens, it'll stay brown." Carl laughed and I slung an arm across his shoulders.

"Did you see Cody?" Maggie called.

"Yeah." I replied. "He's got an IV with antibiotics. Nothing more can be done now."

"Did you clean the bite?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, and stitched it just how you explained it." I nodded. "Since he being pumped full of antibiotics, I doubt it'll get infected."

"More infected than it is, you mean." Rosita said.

I looked at her. "Are you trying to say something?"

"No." She shook her head. "I'm just saying it's already kind of infected otherwise he wouldn't be sick."

"I guess you're right." I sighed. "Sorry if that was snippy. I'm just worried."

"If you survived, he will too." Rick said.

"Thanks, Chewie." I smiled. "Well, I guess I can't call you that anymore." Rick had shaved his beard off. "I almost forgot there was a person under all that hair."

Everyone chuckled and then there was a knock on the door. Rick walked over and answered it.

"Everyone in the same house." Deanna looked around. "Smart. Very smart." She studied all of us. "I have jobs for most of you, but it can wait until tomorrow."

"Most of us." Rick repeated.

"I don't quite know where Mr. Dixon fits in." Deanna looked at Dixon. "And you, Rick, and Michonne, I have an idea for the two of you. I want to make sure it's the right choice, though. Thanks to Mel over there, she's helped me get to know you all a little better." Deanna beamed and I couldn't help but smile back. She was honest. She actually wanted to help the people in the community. She wanted us to help the community get stronger.

"I'll leave you to it, then." Deanna said. "You can explore Alexandria a little better tomorrow."

"Good night, then." Rick led Deanna to the door and she left.

"What exactly did you tell her about us?" Tara asked.

"Just what you guys were best at." I replied, shrugging. "Who would be best at going on runs, who would be best staying in Alexandria. Told her that Eugene was the guy for the job to keep the generators running. Me, Tara, Rosita, and Glenn would be best at going on runs. Sasha's the best shot and that they need a lookout. That sort of stuff."

"Good." Michonne said. "Those are good things."

"Why do you say that?" I laughed. "You thought I was going to say bad things?"

"No." Michonne gave one of her rare smiles. "I'm just saying. Those are good things. Things these people are going to need."

"Maybe they need us as much as we need them." Glenn suggested. Everyone fell silent after that and slowly started falling asleep. Carl leaned his head against my shoulder, the sheriff's hat resting against his leg. I rested my head against his but didn't fall asleep. I watched everyone else and noticed that Rick was still awake, too.

I didn't say anything to him. I didn't want to wake anyone up. So instead I just sat in the corner and stared at the wall while Rick laid down and stared at the ceiling.

The next morning, Jessie, a woman who lived in the community, stopped by and gave us a stroller for Judith.

"Babies should have strollers." She said. Jessie had a son about Carl's age and another younger one. I ran up stairs and searched for permanent markers. I found a few and ran back down and sat down next to the stroller.

"What are you doing?" Maggie asked.

"I am personalizing Judith's stroller." I replied.

"You're putting her name on it?" Jessie asked.

"Yep." I smiled. "Lil Ass Kicker." Glenn, Maggie, Rick, Carl, Carol, and Dixon made various forms of laughter, chuckles, and smiles.

"What does that mean?" Jessie asked.

"It's a nickname Dixon gave Judith after she was born and she didn't have a name yet." I explained. I made the name look really nice and really bad ass. It took quite a bit of finesse, but I managed it.

"There." I said, standing up. "Now Carl can stroll with Judith in style." Carl smiled and handed me the baby.

"Let's go test it out, then." He picked up the stroller and I followed. I put the baby in the stroller and Carl started walking away, sheriff's hat atop his head. Rick watched him walk down the street and turn a corner. I felt him tense next to me when he couldn't see Carl anymore.

"It's okay, Rick." I told him. "They're going to be okay. It's safe here."

"It's just hard getting used to, you know?" Rick looked at me. "I see the walls. I've checked them out. Still can't trust them. Or the people who hide behind them."

"Don't trust the walls." I said. "Don't trust your eyes. Don't trust the people who've lived behind these walls for the past couple of years. Trust your gut. You were a cop, after all."

Rick nodded then headed back inside.

I stayed outside breathing in the fresh air. It was nice just standing and breathing without looking over your shoulder every five minutes to make sure the breath you take won't be your last. After I felt like I had stood there long enough, I headed toward the infirmary. I wanted to check up on Cody.

I walked inside and saw Cody propped up on pillows. Carl was sitting next to him and they were playing cards while Judith played on the ground.

"I never thought I'd see the day." I said, smiling. "Both my brothers sitting in one place being normal. Excellent."

"You called me your brother." Carl said, looking at me surprised.

"Do you not want me to?" I asked.

Carl broke out into a grin. "No, it's fine."

I smiled and turned to Cody. "How do you feel little buddy?" I walked over to him and touched his forehead checking for a fever. He was still warm but not as bad as yesterday. I guess the antibiotics were working.

"Better." Cody smiled weakly at me. "Lots better than yesterday." He still looked really sick. His skin was so pale I could see all the veins on his arms and face and there were dark circles under his eyes despite him having slept all day yesterday.

"Good, good." I nodded, running my hands through his fiery curls. "You know, Pete thought Abraham was our dad or something?"

Carl and Cody laughed.

"Seriously?" Carl laughed even harder when nodded. Cody laughed harder, too, but broke out into a fit of coughing. I gently patted his back, trying to help. Carl reached out and grabbed a glass of water and handed it to Cody. Cody took a few sips and finally stopped coughing. The fit must have wiped him out because he leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes.

"We should leave, Carl." I said. Carl nodded and gathered up the cards. I leaned over and kissed Cody on the forehead while Carl clipped Judith into her stroller. Cody rustled a little at the touch but it seemed like he had fallen asleep again. "I'll be back later little buddy. Love you."

"Love you, too, Mel." Cody murmured. I smiled and followed Carl out the door.

 **Author's Note: Alrighty, please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	69. Chapter 69

"Hey, I thought you were jealous of Cody." I said, tugging at the back of Carl's flannel shirt.

"Yeah, I was." Carl nodded. I hadn't noticed how tall he had gotten. He was almost as tall as me.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He almost died." Carl admitted. "When he got bit, I thought he was going to die. Then you said you were immune and that he'd probably be immune, too. But still, it put stuff in perspective. It wasn't fair to you to be jealous because he _is_ your biological brother and it's not like you can control who drops in and who doesn't, you know? And it wasn't fair to him because, well, he's your brother. He had you first."

"But now you know that both of you are my brothers." I said, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

"Yep." Carl smiled. I glanced over and saw Glenn, Noah, and Tara talking to a couple of guys.

"Hey, I'm going to go see what's up over there, 'kay?"

"'Kay." Carl replied. "I'm going to keep walking with Judith. She really likes it." Carl walked off and I headed toward Glenn, Tara, and Noah.

I slung an arm around Glenn's shoulder and said, "Hello, wazzup."

"You're Maggie?" One of the guys said. I recognized the other one was Nicholas. He'd opened the gate for us yesterday.

"No I'm not Maggie but I am hella jealous of her." I exclaimed. "I mean just look at Glenn! Like, holy shit!" I hit Glenn in the chest with my free hand and he smiled all embarrassed like. "I'm Mel."

"Aiden, Deanna's son." The guy said. The look he gave me... it was the look vultures gave their prey before descending and devouring them. "We were just going to do a dry run, show these guys how we go on runs before we go on a legit one. My mom suggested that you be on the running team, too. Wanna come?"

"Yeah I do!" I said.

"Cool." Aiden said, he stepped forward and I involuntarily jerked back and way from him. I jerked so suddenly I pulled Glenn and he ended up in between me and Aiden. I stumbled back a little and took my arm back from Glenn's shoulders.

Everyone was staring at me like I was crazy.

"I know you're all on edge but I wasn't going to hurt you." Aiden said, giving his best smile. "The gates just back behind you."

"Yeah, yeah." I nodded. "Sorry." It was getting harder to breath the more he looked at me. If he didn't look away, I was sure I was going to suffocate to death.

"Okay, Mel, c'mon." Tara said, grabbing my arm and pulling me. "Let's go get guns, yeah?" The boys followed. Tara pulled me and we walked fast enough that when the boys were out of earshot Tara felt free to talk.

"What was that?" She asked. "You looked really scared."

"Yeah, I don't know." I replied even though I knew exactly why. "I haven't slept in a couple of days, maybe that was it. My sleep deprived brain not running at 100%."

"Should you be going out then?" Tara looked at me in concern.

"Oh, I'm fine." I replied. "It's not the first time I've done runs on little to no sleep. It'll be okay."

Tara looked at me skeptically. "Stay by Glenn, then." I nodded just as we got to the armory. I checked out Dixon's gun knowing he'd be pissed if he found out, and my hatchet. Everyone else got a gun or two, not too much because we weren't going to be out for too long.

As we walked through the trees, Aiden was explaining their running system. Glenn and I had made our own system back at Prison Falls. If we wanted to know if the other was okay, I would whistle a lower tone to a higher tone and Glenn would whistle back a higher tone to a lower tone. If we had found everything we could, we did the inverse of the whistle tones, me from high to low and Glenn from low to high.

I had only been half paying attention to Aiden's explanations when the group stopped walking.

"Dammit." Aiden spat. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" I asked.

"The blood's still fresh, it's around here somewhere." Nicholas said.

"A walker?" I said, surprised.

"It killed one of our friends." Aiden explained.

"Then you kill it... again... you don't keep it." I hissed.

Nicholas started calling and clapping his hands.

"Shut up." Glenn hissed at him.

"No, we need to catch it again." Nicholas said. He continued whooping and hollering. Noah came to stand closer to me. He wasn't as experience out here as the rest of us. He was probably safer close to me than anywhere else. I looked at him and he nodded once. Just then, a walker stumbled out of the trees.

"There it is." Aiden said excitedly. "Nicholas, distract it." Nicholas did just that amid protests from Noah, Glenn, Tara, and me.

Aiden messed up putting the chain around the walker's arms, a chain I only just noticed. The walker slipped out of Nicholas's grasp and end up lunging toward Tara. Without a moment's hesitation, I pulled out my hatchet and buried it in the walker's head. I wasn't about to lose a friend, no a family member, to a dumbass vulture with a cocky attitude.

The walker dropped like a stone and Aiden and Nicholas stared at the motionless corpse for a second before exploding.

"Why the fuck did you do that?" Aiden yelled, trying to get close to my face. A jolt of fear stabbed me in the gut and danced up my spine. I stumbled back away from Aiden.

"If she hadn't done it, I would have." Glenn said. "Tara would have done it. Noah would have done it. Those things aren't pets, they're dangerous."

"You guys aren't ready to go on runs." Aiden spat then started back to Alexandria.

"That wasn't your sleep deprived brain." Tara murmured to me once we got walking.

"You noticed that, huh?" I murmured back.

"Yep. You gonna tell me what it's about?"

"Nope." I patted Tara on the shoulder.

"Thanks, by the way." Tara added. "For killing the walker. He was slippery and I couldn't get to my knife."

"Of course, bro." I nudged her shoulder. "I'd sooner help you than them." I jutted my chin toward Aiden and Nicholas.

"Duh." Tara said, smiling. We walked on in silence. Glenn was obviously seething, about to blow his top.

When we were back in Alexandria, Aiden started up a fight again.

 **Author's Note: Okay, another chapter for your enjoyment. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	70. Chapter 70

**Author's Note: Think _I am Legend_. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**

"You guys need new jobs." Aiden repeated. "You aren't ready for runs."

"I think you've got that backwards." Glenn shot back.

"Hey!" Glenn turned around and Aiden got all up in his grill. "We have a way of doing things, that's one of them."

"If that's how you do things then we're no better off than your last run group." Glenn replied, his voice steady and calm. He was pissed but he was better at getting his point across than Aiden.

I looked around and saw people gathering to watch the altercation, among them Eugene and Dixon with is crossbow on his back.

"Hey." I murmured, leaning closer to Noah. "I'm going to go check on Cody, okay? I don't want to be here, besides, Glenn's right."

Noah nodded. "I'll let them know when they're done measuring." I busted out a snort and patted Noah on the shoulder.

"You keep those jokes up and we may just have to keep you." Noah smiled and I walked away, forgetting that I had to turn in my gun.

I hadn't even realized that I'd kept it until I was at the infirmary door. I tucked it into the back of my waistband, looking around to make sure no one was watching me do it. I'd turn it in after checking on Cody. I have no need for it in Alexandria what with the walls and everything.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The lights were off and I flicked them on calling out, "Cody?" I looked over at his bed... and it was empty.

"Cody?" I walked over to the bed. He'd seemed weak but fine this morning. "Are you in the bathroom, little buddy? Just say yeah and let me know, I can wait." I pushed around the blankets on his bed and found a card from the deck Carl and he were using. It was an ace of hearts. I tucked it into my pocket, making a mental note to give it back to Carl when I see him next, then I heard a rustling behind me. I turned around but there was nothing there.

"Cody?" My voice came out weaker than I had intended it. My heart was pounding and my instincts were telling me something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. "Cody, where are you?" I looked around and noticed bright green eyes staring at me from behind a medical cart.

"Cody..."

He moved faster than Cody. He was stronger than Cody. This thing with bright red hair and green eyes was not Cody.

It jumped on me, jumping over the medical cart and supplies like it was nothing, like a frog jumping from lily pad to lily pad. It took me down and tried to strangle me. _Strangle me_. It's strong hands wrapped around my neck and squeezed I screamed but it came out strangled and gurgly. I tried to push it off, but it was strong. Stronger than anyone I had ever met. Stronger than any human on the planet could ever be. But it had the face of my little brother.

I pushed and shoved but still it came with it's inhuman strength and its inhuman cries. I reached over to the left and grabbed a bed pan that had fallen to the floor and smacked the thing in the head. It tumbled off of me and I took the time to stand up and scurry away from it. It slowly stood up, bones moving and shifting under the thin white skin.

When it looked at me, the fear set in, hot and harsh. It made me weak in the knees. The fear gripped me tight and held me against my will, using that creature with Cody's face as the gun pointed at my head.

It stared at me with intelligent eyes. It looked at me to the bedpan in my hand. It was like it knew I had hit it with the pan. It was like he was figuring out that if he lunged at me again, I would hit it again.

But God was it fast. And I bet it knew it, too.

It sped at me. The velocity he reached shouldn't have been possible in the six feet between us. I swung the bed pan but he was ready. In one fluid movement he reached out, grabbed my arm, snapped it back. He had been planning it, standing over there. _Planning_ a way to get the pan out of my hand. White hot pain shot up my arm. I gritted my teeth against it. He didn't know I had a gun. I pulled it out of my waist band with my right hand as the creature took me down. I took the gun, pointed it at its temple, and pulled the trigger.

I watched the light go out in green eyes so much like mine, then the thing slumped down, limp on top of me. I pushed it off as cold descended on me. It started in my toes and crept up my legs. Into my stomach, my lungs, my heart, my brain. Cold. I was cold. Nothing was properly registering anymore. Not Rick, who burst in a few minutes later. Not Michonne who called Glenn in. Not Glenn who helped me to my feet, took the gun away, and lead me outside.

There were people outside, watching. Deanna came over and asked what happened.

"I think Cody died." Glenn explained. "Turned into a walker. Mel..." He trailed off.

Deanna looked at me. "Are you alright?"

I didn't respond. Couldn't respond. It was hard to breath. The almost strangulation I had been subjected to making my throat swell. The hot pain in my left arm was the only thing that combated the cold shock inside.

"I'm going to take her back to the house." Glenn said. I saw Dixon somewhere in the crowd but I couldn't focus on him. Glenn had my right arm over his shoulder and his left arm around my waist. His right arm was keeping my right in place. When we got to the house, everyone who was still inside were piled on the porch.

"What happened?" Maggie asked. Everyone had concern in their eyes. "We heard the gun shot, it sound like it was inside Alexandria."

"It was." Glenn said. "Mel shot Cody." Maggie rushed forward and helped Glenn get me inside.

Once I was inside and sitting on the couch, I laid down and passed out.


	71. Chapter 71

"What exactly happened, do you know?" I heard Deanna ask.

"No, she looked pretty out of it and passed out on the couch." Glenn explained. "She didn't say a word."

"Okay, when she wakes up, I'd like to hear the story." Deanna replied.

"I'm awake." I groaned. I sat up carefully. I had laid down on my right arm and my left arm was throbbing. I looked around and everyone, our whole group, was piled into the living room.

Deanna went and sat down on a chair in front of me and everyone else were either sitting or standing.

"What happened?" Deanna asked. "Everyone in Alexandria knows your brother had died and attacked you because he was a walker, but I'd like to know how you got a gun and why you were carrying it around."

I shook my head. "I went out with Glenn, Noah, Tara, Aiden, and Nicholas. I forgot to turn it in, I just wanted to check on Cody."

"And when you got there he was dead." Deanna finished. "I'm so sorry."

"He was fine this morning, though." Carl piped up. "I went and saw him with Judith. He was fine. We were playing cards. He looked like he was getting better."

"Might have been." Maggie nodded. "But the infection still could have been the thing to kill him."

"Cody got bit." I explained to Deanna. "He got bit when everyone else was on their way to get Eric. I was with Aaron, Glenn, Rick, and Michonne in the car. They were in the RV. I've been bit. I survived, just got really sick. I thought Cody was the same. Eugene said maybe not because he had different chromosomes or something, but Cody made it through the night and all day yesterday. It seemed like he was immune, too. This morning, he _was_ fine, like Carl said. The antibiotics must have been helping. When I went in today..." I trailed off, needing to take a breath. The cold was still all over my body. I knew I should have been crying, like Maggie had cried and Rick had cried and Sasha had cried, but it was like the cold had frozen the tears. They just weren't coming.

"When I went in after coming back he wasn't in bed." I continued. "He was hiding behind a cart and he..." I shook my head. "Walkers are stupid. They're slow. You knock them down and it takes them forever to get back up. They're only goal is to kill and eat. But the thing Cody turned into... that wasn't a walker. Nuh-uh. No way. It was smart. It was strong. It was fast. Walkers try to eat you. That thing tried to _strangle_ me. Then I hit it with a bed pain. Walkers don't stop and watch you, they just charge, but _it_ stopped. It watched me. When it came at me and I swung the bedpan, it had planned it, _counted_ on it. It reached out and snapped my arm, making me drop the pan. That's when I shot it. It wasn't a walker and it wasn't my brother. Whatever was in his DNA mixed with the disease that turns people into walkers and turned him into something new and terrifying."

I stopped and looked down at my feet. I should be crying. I should be freaking out. I should be looking like Maggie after Beth and Sasha after Tyrese and Rick after Lori. I should be more emotional, right now, but I wasn't. I was mostly just shocked.

"We should get you to the infirmary." Deanna said. "Get your arm in a cast before it's too late. And... I'll keep your immunity a secret. I'm assuming you wanted to keep Cody's bite a secret as well?"

"I know what you're thinking." I replied. "But I didn't expect this to happen. I didn't even expect him to die, not here, not with medicine. I should have died, not him. I should have died." It was the same thing I said when Jackson drowned. _I should have died_. I was there and I let him drown because I didn't try hard enough to get to him. _I should have died._

"C'mon, to the infirmary." Deanna repeated. "I'll get Pete."

"I'll come." Glenn said.

"Me, too." Carl added. Everyone else opted to stay behind and I was grateful.

Glenn stood on my left side and helped Pete put the cast on and Carl stood on my right to hold my hand. I squeezed his hand as I winced and he squeezed it back.

"It's only a wrist fracture and maybe up the arm a little." Pete explained. "I'll take the cast off in about a week and see how its healed and we'll see if you need another cast or a brace. We might have a brace that'll fit."

"Can she still go on runs?" Glenn asked.

"Which had is dominate?" Pete asked me.

"My right." I replied.

"Then I don't think you going on runs will be a problem." Pete informed. "You know yourself better than I ever will so if you feel like you can go on a run, go on a run."

"'Kay." The cast was on and set then Pete turned to my neck.

"You're severely bruised." Pete said. "But it'll heal up in a few days. No swelling, so that's good. You're good to go. Come back in a week, don't forget."

"Yes, sir." Glenn, Carl, and I started walking back to the house. Carl was still holding my hand but no one was saying anything.

"What are you guys thinking?" I asked.

"I'm thinking I'm sorry." Glenn said. "He was your brother and that must have been really scary. It was terrifying listening to you describe it, I can't imagine having been there."

"Good thing you weren't." I said. "It was so bad my brain's already making me forget it. Like when my other brother died."

"I never asked how that happened."

"We were at a lake." I replied. "I was watching him and he swam out farther than he could stand. I tried to go out and get him but I couldn't swim half as well as he or my other brothers could. It may be hard to believe but I wasn't the outdoorsy type. Didn't like swimming or fishing or hunting. Never even learned how to hunt anyway, but still. He drowned because of me. And I said the same thing I said about Cody. I should have died. I should be dead."

"Maybe." Glenn nodded. "But think about how many times you've helped protect the group. If you had died, I wouldn't have my running partner and I'd be dead now. I won't forget how many times you've saved my ass."

"And that group before Terminus." Carl chimed in. "The one's who wanted to hurt us and kill Dad. If you hadn't been there and killed those guys, Michonne, Dad, and I would be dead."

"And you cheer everyone up." Glenn finished. "You're unwavering cheeriness keeps everyone's heads on straight. You are living proof that the world can't get so fucked up that there's nothing left to smile about."

"Those are all good things." I said quietly. "Very good things." And that was the last thing I said that day.

When it was time for bed. I sat down next to Carl again. He put his head on my shoulder and I put my head on his. I waited until he was good and asleep before I moved. I tried my damndest to keep asleep. Then I left the house as stealthily I could and headed toward the wall. I climbed up the wall and down the other side. I found the metal trashcan that was by the front gate and pulled it deeper into the woods. I had to give the gun and hatchet back, but I wasn't going to be out here long.

I stuck dry leaves, twigs, and branches into the barrel and lit it on fire. I watched the flames, happy to feel something other than pure cold. I watched the flames until I heard rustling in the trees behind me. I didn't stick around to see if it was a walker or an animal. I had made sure to make the fire small and near the bottom of the barrel. It'd burn itself out before too long.

I climbed up the wall and back into Alexandria.

 **Author's Note: Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	72. Chapter 72

"We buried him already." Rick informed me.

"'Kay." I replied. I didn't care. I was frozen inside.

"You wanna see where?" Rick asked.

"No." I said. I patted Rick's chest and walked away. Deanna found me later and told me that she was going to have a mixer type thing going on at her house that night.

I didn't care.

I didn't care about going.

I didn't care about not going.

I didn't care.

"Hey, you going to the party?" Noah a asked later that day. I had been sitting in one of the bedrooms and he was standing in the doorway.

I shrugged. "I don't care either way."

"Well, I was thinking that maybe I could escort you." Noah smiled sheepishly.

"You asking me out Noah?" I asked, purposefully looking him in the eye to make him more uncomfortable.

"No." Noah shook his head. "No, it's just... I don't know anyone and everyone's already gone. I don't want to go alone."

"You want to go with family." I nodded. I chocked a little on the word family. "'Kay, I'll be ready in ten." I got up and took a quick shower. It was wonderful, showering in a proper shower with proper shower stuff. I even shaved my legs for the first time in God knew how long in preparation for the dress Maggie had found for me. It was a white spaghetti strap with a flower pattern all over it. The kind of thing I would have worn before, when I was home.

In ten minutes, just like I said, I was out and ready to go. Noah and I walked to Deanna's house and he told me how interested he was in architecture.

"Have you always been?" I asked.

"Well, kind of." Noah admitted. "But I just guessed that now I should probably get back into it. Help keep the walls up."

"Cool." I nodded. "Good." It reminded me of how little we all knew about each other. We knew the important things, that we'd die for each other, take care of each other, but I didn't even know what Carl's favorite color was. Or anyone's favorite color, for that matter.

Noah and I walked inside the house and looked around. It was pretty well lit and there were a bunch of people standing around and chatting like there was nothing wrong with the world. Like the dead hadn't risen from the grave to eat the living. And I was supposed to join them and pretend that I hadn't just killed my brother the day before? No. This get together is going to be hell.

"Hey." Abraham walked over to Noah and I. "There're drinks over there."

"Like juice and stuff?" Noah asked.

"Yeah." Abraham nodded then looked straight at me. "Juice and other stuff."

Alcohol.

I had only ever gotten drunk once and that was with my Dad in the living room of our house. Everyone was out for the doing various activities like sleep overs and whatnot. Dad let me get shit faced and I passed out. The next day I swore I would never drink again.

I went back on the promise that night.

The alcohol warmed me up from the inside out. The more beer and bourbon I drank, the looser I got. I gave more smiles, talked to more people. I could almost forget that I had killed three people.

At one point, while I was talking to some random people I wasn't going to remember tomorrow, I heard Sasha yell.

"That's what you worry about?" She yelled at some poor woman. I walked over and slung my arm across Sasha's shoulders.

"Hey." I said. I sounded drunk even to me. "You... should be... nicer... to people."

"She's worried she's going to cook the wrong thing." Sasha replied hostilely, staring at the other woman.

"Then let her worry about that." People had stopped talking and were staring at us. "S'all she's ever gone have ta worry 'bout. Snot like her brother's gonna turn into some psycho walker and try to kill 'er, right?" I laughed. "Right? Aren't I right? I am right."

Sasha stared at me for a second. "C'mon, let's go."

"Yeah." I said excitedly. "We should go find Dixon! He should be here and stop being some dumbass redneck shit stupid... wha-what was I saying?"

"I'm going to take that." Rick walked over and took the drink from my right hand. "Sasha, get her out of here."

Sasha nodded and put an arm around my waist and let me keep my left on her shoulders. We walked outside into the cool Georgia air and I sobered up a little, at least, sober enough to know that I should have said any of the stuff I just said.

"Hey, you okay?" Aiden popped out of the shadows freaking me out so bad that in my drunken state my jump nearly turned into a topple.

"She's drunk." Sasha explained.

"I can tell." Aiden smiled at me. I hated his smile. "I can walk her home, if that's okay?"

Sasha looked at me. "Yeah, okay. You good with that Mel?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatter you gone do, Shasha?"

Sasha almost smiled. "I'm going to take a walk. Blow off some steam. Maybe Aiden can help you find the redneck?"

"Ooh, yeah, help me fine Dixon." I pointed at Aiden as Sasha took back her arm and let go of mine. She walked off to the left and Aiden started leading me forward.

He started talking about things I didn't care about. I tried to answer as respectfully as I could, but like I said, I didn't care about that woman's pasta maker. Who the fuck really cares about a pasta maker?

At one point, I ended up almost falling off of the sidewalk. Aiden reached out, grabbed me, and pulled me back in such a way that I was facing him.

"You okay?" He asked, smiling a vulture's smile.

"Yeah." I struggled against his arms which were gripping both my biceps. "You can let go know. I won't fall this time."

"I just wanted to talk." Aiden said in such a way that made me think he didn't just want to talk. "There just aren't a lot of girls my age around."

"Hey, whatter you doin'?" A gruff voice asked.

"Dixon!" I said, smiling in relief. "Hi, we were just coming to find you." I tripped over my feet as I was walking toward him, finally shaking off Aiden's hands, and actually fell down this time. Aiden looked like he was about to help me but Dixon gave him this look.

"You been drinkin', Mel?" Dixon asked. "You drunk?"

"Yeah." I giggled. "I had lots of drunks... I mean drinks." Dixon reached down and helped me up, making sure I didn't put any pressure on my left arm.

"C'mon, I'll take you back." Dixon said, shooting a look at Aiden.

"We were talking." Aiden defended himself.

"Yeah but he said it like he didn't want to talk." I said. "He said it like those guys on the road who hurt me. 'Member them? They were bad. They were bad guys."

I whisper-yelled at Aiden. "They raped me and beat me and shit. They were bad. Like you. You would have raped me, too. You're bad and that's why those people in your last run died. You suck."

That's when Dixon moved. He took my elbow and pulled me down the street.

"That guy sucks, Dixon." I informed him, loud enough that Aiden could here. "He sucks major ball sack."

"Okay, no more alcohol for you." Dixon said. "Now and ever."

I laughed. "Fine. But that starts tomorrow." Then I paused. "My knee hurts lots." I stopped and pulled up my dress a little. My knee was scraped and bleeding.

"That could use some cleaning." Aaron said. We had stopped in front of his house by accident.

"Nah, she'll be fine." Dixon said. He turned to Aaron. "Why ain't you at that party?"

"I was never going to go." Aaron replied, walking down the porch steps and inspecting my knee. "I was going to stay home with Eric since he can't go. If ever there was a good thing to come out of a broken ankle, right?" Aaron laughed looking up and I laughed back.

"Why the hell'd you tell me to go?" Dixon sounded grumpy.

"I wanted you to try." Aaron said. He looked Dixon up and down. "And you did. The thought that counts kind of thing, right?"

Dixon glared.

"Dixon's grumpy tonight." I told Aaron. "He's always kind of grumpy but he's real grumpy tonight. I think it's 'cause he showered."

Aaron smiled. "Have you been drinking?" I smiled back and nodded.

"We should go." Dixon said, turning his glare toward me. "Get that knee cleaned."

"Come inside." Aaron said. "I can clean it. Besides, we have some killer spaghetti."

"I don't like spaghetti." I said. "We should go home."

"We also have wine." Aaron added.

"The front door's this way?" I asked, pointing and walking. Aaron laughed and helped me up the porch steps. Dixon reluctantly followed.

 **Author's Note: Okay guys, here's the next chapter in Mel's life. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	73. Chapter 73

"Ow." I said. Aaron was gently wiping the blood off my knee as I sat in a chair in his living room. Dixon was standing uncomfortably in one of the corners and watching.

"I didn't even press it." Aaron replied, laughing.

"Still hurts." I puckered out my bottom lip. Once Aaron was done cleaning my scrape, he stuck a largish bandage on my knee.

"Don't kiss it better." I whispered. "That'd be weird."

"You are really drunk, aren't you?" Aaron laughed.

"Yep." I laughed, nodding.

"Okay, come here, we're going to try to get to the dining room." Aaron stood up and helped me to my feet. I was starting to feel the full effects of the alcohol.

"Good thing I ain't eated nothing yet." I said as I wobbled. "That'd be bad." My stomach churned unpleasantly.

"Well you should eat something." Aaron said. "It'll help with the killer hangover you're going to have tomorrow." Aaron led me to the dining room and sat me down in a chair. Dixon followed like a lost puppy and sat down across from me and next to Eric.

"Hi, I'm Mel." I told Eric. "I don't think we've been properly introduced."

"Hi, Mel." Eric smiled and held out his hand. Somehow I managed to shake it. Aaron gave everyone spaghetti and they started eating. I took one look at the pasta and decided to eat the wine instead.

Dixon was eating the spaghetti like it was going out of fashion. Understandable since this was the first time since Prison Falls that we'd had stores of food. Eric started talking to Dixon about that lady who wanted the stupid pasta maker.

"I was just hoping you'd find one when you go out." Eric was saying. "We all just want her to shut up about it."

Dixon gave Eric a look then Aaron the same one. "What?"

"Uh..." Aaron started.

"That's so stupid." I said into my wine glass, interrupting. "So stupid. Stupid pasta maker lady."

"Has anyone been keeping track of how many of those she's had?" Aaron asked. He was obviously nervous.

"Sorry, I thought you asked him already." Eric apologized across the table.

"No." Aaron shook his head.

"Dude." I whispered. "He's right there." I pointed at Dixon. "He can hear you."

"Yeah, I know." Aaron smiled then turned to Dixon. "I want to show you something."

Dixon didn't move.

"Stop being so antisho-sho-shocia-" I scrunched up my face in frustration.

"Antisocial." Eric supplied.

"Yes, yep, mhm." I nodded vigorously. When I stopped, the room kept moving and I got dizzy.

"Why don't you stay here and help Eric?" Aaron suggested. "And don't drink anymore, okay?"

"I'm... not even that drunk." I defended myself. The fact that, as I said that sentence, I was standing up and fell down as did so, proved the exact opposite.

"'M okay." I called from the floor. "Think 'm gone take a nap."

"Don't take a nap on the floor." Eric said, laughing. Dixon got out of his chair and helped me back up to my feet.

"We should get back." He said quietly.

"No, go let Aaron show you the thing he wants to show you." I flapped my hands. "I'll be okay. I'll wait here." Dixon helped me sit down because if I had tried to do it I would have fallen flat on my ass. Aaron led Dixon away toward the garage and I laid my head down on the cool table top.

"They don't say home." I said. "They all say 'back,' but never home."

"I think you know why, though." Eric said.

"Yeah." I nodded but it must have looked weird with me laying on the table. My eyes fluttered closed and the next thing I knew Dixon was waking me up and helping me to my feet.

"C'mon." He murmured.

"Did Aaron show you the thing?" I asked.

"Yeah." But that's all he said about it of his own accord.

I said good night to Aaron and Eric and Dixon led me back home.

"What'd Aaron wanna show you?" I asked. I pulled away from Dixon's grasp and walked ahead a little.

"He's been collecting bike parts." Dixon replied. "Wants me to go out and find more people with him. Doesn't want Eric out there anymore."

"Good." I nodded. "You'd be really good at that." I tripped a little but managed not to fall. Dixon had his arms out to catch me just in case.

"Could you be careful?" He complained at me.

"I am careful." I replied. "I'm very careful. I'm always really, very careful."

"'Cept you get bit by walkers and don't tell nobody." Dixon huffed.

"There wadn't a point." I replied. "We had something else to do. Get Beth."

"And look how good that turned out."

I stopped walking. "That wadn't your fault, you know."

Dixon just looked at me. We were standing out in front of the house. We hadn't split into the two houses yet but I figured that was going to happen soon. There were too many people to fit into one house and everyone seemed to be settling just fine.

I walked over to Dixon and pushed his bangs back leaving my hands on either side of his face. "I'm gone cut those." I informed him. "Gone cutcher bangs off 'cause you look crazy."

"Not tonight." He said.

"No, not tonight." I laughed. "You... actually take a shower... Dixon? I jus' said that 'cause... uh..."

"Yeah I showered." He looked uncomfortable. Like taking a shower was something super shameful.

"Well, you smell good." I smiled, breathing in deep through my nose. "'N' you en't gotta go 'round thinkin' it was a big deal. It ain't like you got married or anything."

Dixon reached up and took my cast incased arm and looked at it. "Sorry 'bout your brother." He whispered.

"Yeah, me, too." I whispered back. I then stepped forward and kissed him. It wasn't like the kiss in the woods before Terminus. This was a real kiss. The kind of kiss little girls dreamed about getting from Prince Charming. Except my Prince Charming was in the form of a not-quite-as-charming-but-still-kind-of-endearing redneck.

Dixon wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. We stood there, kissing, until I realized how dizzy I was getting. I couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or the kiss that was making me that way, though.

I pulled away and looked at Dixon. "I need to go inside and lie down. I'm dizzy."

"'Kay." Dixon nodded and he looked at me with this look on his face. The look Glenn would give Maggie or Maggie would give Glenn every once in a while.

He helped me up the porch steps, I didn't say anything about the kissing because Dixon wasn't about that life, and he led me into the living room where I passed out on the couch.

 **Author's Note: Please excuse any typos or confusing things in this chapter. I'm on vacation and I've written this chapter over the last two days while half asleep. Please leave a review and have a nice day!**


	74. Chapter 74

"You're up, good." Sasha said to me. "How do you feel?"

"Like the sun is trying to murder me." I replied, squinting. "And my brain feels like it's trying to explode but it doesn't know how to go about it."

"Welcome to Hangoverville." Glenn laughed. I was sitting at the dining room table with my head in my hands. Everyone was going about their business, in and out of the room, talking and chattering with each other.

"Shaddup, Glenn." I groaned.

"What do you remember about last night?" Rick asked, settling down across from me with a cup of coffee. How utterly normal.

"I remember being at Deanna's house." I replied. "Then Sasha... something about Sasha. Then... I think I was at Aaron's house? And Dixon was there... then I was home with the headache from hell."

Rick's laugh rattled through my brain like a bullet.

I remembered more about last night than I had said. I remembered Dixon and I remembered kissing him and telling him I was going to cut his bangs. He was standing in the doorway watching me with no emotion on his face. In other words, he was watching me with his normal face on his face.

I wondered if he actually thought I had forgotten or if he knew I was pretending. He probably thought I forgot.

"Do you not remember Aiden?" Sasha asked.

"Aiden?" I looked at her. "Deanna's son? Nope."

"He was supposed to walk you back." Sasha explained, a slight touch of concern in her eyes. "What happened?"

"I did it." Dixon piped up. "Walked passed and offered to take her home so he could go to the party. We stopped at Aaron's house 'cause that one's a clumsy drunk. Tripped and scraped her knee."

"Really?" I looked down at my knee. I was still wearing the dress I had worn the night before. "Huh, yep, there's the bandage. Okay." I nodded. "Oh, nodding bad." I groaned and laid my head down on the table.

Glenn laughed again and patted my shoulder. I groaned and stayed in the house the whole day. As the sun set I stepped outside to breathe in the cold air. By that time my headache was gone and I was excited to do something with my life. While I was standing on the porch, Aiden walked down the sidewalk and caught him staring at the house.

"I see you made it home." He said, trying to cover up his stalkerness.

"Yeah." I nodded, slightly narrowing my eyes at him. "Sasha said she left me with you to walk me home."

"You don't remember?" Aiden asked.

"Nope." I shook my head. "I don't remember much about last night."

"Well," Aiden nodded. "I was going to walk you home but something freaked you out and your friend, the one with the crossbow, showed up and offered to take you the rest of the way."

"Hmm." I sighed. "Well, thanks."

"Of course." Aiden nodded. "Anytime."

"How many times did you walk past the house today?" I asked.

Aiden smiled. "A few. I wanted to make sure you were okay but I didn't see you and I didn't know how to ask your friends."

"My family." I corrected.

"Your family." Aiden nodded. "Right."

"Well now you know I'm fine so if you do one more pass by the house I'm calling the cops and getting a restraining order." I threatened.

Aiden laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. Goodnight, Mel." Then we walked down the sidewalk and vanished from sight.

"What'd he say to you?" Dixon asked, stepping out of the shadows of the porch and making me jump

"Jesus, Dixon!" I cried, slapping a hand to my fast beating heart. "He just said that I got freaked out by something and that's why you walked me home. It was probably a spider." I shrugged and looked down at the bushes planted in front of the porch.

"It wadn't no spider." Dixon murmured. "You thought he was gonna rape you."

I didn't say anything at first. Instead I thought. I mean, it made since. The only guys I've been around since that horrible moment are good guys. Guys who would never rape me. They would never rape anyone. Then I remembered the way I had reacted the day Cody died. I had lunged away from Aiden so conspicuously the whole tiny group noticed. I wasn't used to attention from boys anymore. And the memory of the vultures looming in the back of my mind wasn't helping much.

I turned to Dixon. "I guess it was a good thing you saved me that time, huh?" I gave him a small smile.

He just looked at me.

"I remember kissing you." I said quietly. "And telling you I was going to cut your bangs. Tomorrow, I think is when I'll do that."

Dixon nodded once.

"What?" I asked, turning to him and crossing my arms over my chest.

"Nothin'." Dixon shook his head.

I gave him a look.

"Nothin'." He insisted.

We stood locked in an epic stare-off until he finally cracked.

"Aaron's got bike pieces. Wants me to build one 'n' go out with him to find people." Dixon finally admitted.

"Sounds like something you'd enjoy." I said. "You hate being in here."

"Don't... hate it." Dixon said slowly.

"Is that your way of saying that you like having me around, Dixon?" I asked, smiling.

"Shut up." Dixon glared at me then walked back into the house. I smiled after him then turned back to look out toward the rest of Alexandria.

"Sounds like you two are getting pretty close." Maggie said stepping out of the house.

"Oh, yeah." I nodded. "We're getting to the point where he'll let me braid his hair and tell me about the boys he likes."

Maggie laughed. "It's good that you can keep your humor after..." She trailed off.

"Yeah." I nodded. "It's been a day and I haven't cried yet."

"It'll hit you sooner or later." Maggie said after a moment. She came over and we stood shoulder to shoulder for another hour or so.

When it started to get too cold to stay outside, we went back inside and went to bed.

 **Author's Note: Oh my f***ing God I am so sorry it's taken me so long to post another chapter! Ever since I got back from vacation I've had this stress induced writer's block over college tuition and finding a job, and I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with this chapter or what I wanted out of it. Now, who's excited for season 7?**

 **Please leave a review and have a fantastic day!**


	75. Chapter 75

"Sit down, Dixon, and no one gets hurt." I threatened, holding up the crossbow and pointing it at the redneck's chest.

He glared at me through the overgrown hedge of his hair.

"Whoa, what is going on?" Glenn asked, walking into the room and holding up his hands.

"I want to cut Dixon's bangs." I explained, never taking my eyes, or the crossbow, off of Dixon. "But he won't let me. I told him I'd cut them."

"Right." Glenn nodded. "Threatening is a good way to do that."

"What I don't get," I said to Dixon, "is that no one had to threaten you to take a shower. But you did that. Now I want to do something as simple as cut your bangs, and you get all... ugh." I narrowed my eyes.

"You took a shower?" Glenn looked at Dixon in surprise.

Dixon flicked his glare over to Glenn who smiled in return.

"I'll just walk away." Glenn dropped his hands. "I'm going to help Aiden plan a run. We're going to wait until your wrist heals so you can tag along."

I faltered a bit when Glenn mentioned Aiden and Dixon's eyes darkened a little.

"Great." I said. "See you later."

Glenn glanced between the two of us again then walked out the door, leaving me alone in the house with Dixon.

"Are you going to go willingly?" I asked when he was gone. "or do I actually have to shoot you?"

Dixon huffed air out of his nose and sat down on the couch. I did a little jig and put the crossbow down on the other side of the couch next to its owner. I went and got a pair of scissors then sat down in front of Dixon on the coffee table.

Carefully, I snipped Dixon's bangs. I made sure to make it not look stupid, I just wanted them to be a little shorter so they move out of the way naturally. At the moment, he was having to push his hair out of his face. I shortened his bangs from chin length to nose length, making sure not to cut it straight across. That would have looked way too stupid for Mr. Bad Ass Redneck.

"There." I said, leaning back. "Was that so hard?"

Dixon was watching me. It had just hit me how close to his face I had been.

"No." He said quietly.

"Exactly." I nodded. "So how's bike coming?"

He shrugged and stood up.

"Why are you being so... ugh?" I asked, standing up and putting the scissors on the mantel to keep them out of Judith's way.

I turned around and looked at him.

He shrugged.

I groaned. "You're just as irritating as you were when I first got here." I pointed out.

"Aiden." He grunted.

I stared at him. "What about Aiden?" I asked. "You said he tried to rape me."

"I said you thought he was going to rape you." Dixon corrected.

"Well, whatever." I flapped my hands around. "I don't even like Aiden. He's too... smarmy."

"Doesn't change the fact he likes you." Dixon replied.

I rolled my eyes. "You're being distant and shit-heady because you think I'm going to choose Aiden over you?"

Dixon just looked at me.

"That's it, isn't it?" I glared at him. "How stupid do you have to be?"

"He's..." Dixon started then trailed off.

"He's younger and better looking and more acceptable for me." I said. "Is that what you're thinking? Has to be, though you wont say it. You're threatened by some piece of shit kid who can only get girls because it's the apocalypse. Just so you know, Dixon, Aiden is the embodiment of all the things I hate in a guy. Actually, he's all the things I hate in a person."

I looked at Dixon who was looking back at me with a weird look on his face.

"Okay, I've said my piece, do with it what you will." I said when he didn't reply. I left the house and went in search of Carl and Judith. He'd made it a habit of taking her out for a walk in her little stroller. I also think he had a crush on that girl Enid. Maybe I could get him to confess to it.

Maybe I could get Dixon to confess how he felt, too.

Maybe not. Most likely not. Especially since it was Dixon.

The worst part of it was, I think I was actually really starting to like him. And I think he was thinking I was doing it because of circumstance. How do I let him know that I actually mean what I say and do?

I groaned.

"I hate life." I said out loud.

"Should I be concerned?" Aaron called from his porch.

I laughed. "Nah. Just... having issues I hadn't thought about in a while."

"You and Daryl, right?" Aaron walked down the steps of the porch. "Yeah, that might prove to be a little trickier. Especially here."

"Uh..." I started.

Aaron laughed. "I could see it the other night."

"Is it that obvious? I didn't think it was that obvious."

"Well, not obvious as in PDA obvious." Aaron replied. "But if you know what it looks like then you can see it."

"And you know what it looks like." I smiled.

"Exactly." Aaron nodded. "And don't worry about that stuff. It'll happen when it happens."

"Unless one of us dies before it gets a chance to happen." I pointed out.

Aaron looked at me. "Don't think that way, you won't hate life as much." Aaron smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Good talking to you, Aaron." I said. "Have you seen Carl?"

"I think he went to our little cemetery." Aaron replied and pointed out the way.

"Thanks." I said and walked away.

 **Author's Note: Okay, second update in two days. I just feel really bad about not posting as often. This writer's block really has been hell. Anyway, so here you go. Ooh, and if you want, I'm also on the site Wattpad where I put up original stuff (** **user/TheWizardStyles) if you're interested. If not, no big deal, just leave a review and have a fantastic day!**


	76. Chapter 76

It'd been two weeks since Deanna's party. Two weeks since Cody died. Two weeks since I broke my wrist. Two weeks since Dixon had talked to me. Well, at least until last night.

I had stomped into his room and closed the door and put my fists on my hips to show him how serious I was.

He glared at me and then, after a few minutes of intense silence, Dixon finally said, "You're right."

"Good." I said triumphantly, until I realized I had no idea what I was right about. "Why am I right?"

"About Aiden." Dixon shrugged. "Well, not _him_ , but... you know. There're... guys here. Better guys." He lowered his eye to his lap.

"Are you jealous, Dixon?" I asked.

"Be serious." He hissed across the room.

"I am dead serious, _Daryl_." I hissed back. "Are. You. Jealous. Of. Aiden?"

Dixon looked down at his crossbow. "Yeah." He said, almost imperceptibly.

"If you're jealous, then..." I trailed off for a moment. "Why are you jealous, Dixon?"

He didn't reply. Instead, he looked at me, which was almost as good as answering my question.

"Don't be jealous." I said quietly. "Don't. You have nothing to be jealous of. I..." I trailed off. It seemed Dixon wasn't the only one who had problems expressing their emotions. "I... choose..."

"I know." Dixon nodded, interrupting me. "I know. But... can't help getting jealous."

"And that's fine." I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. "You're human. Humans get jealous. Just don't push me away, okay? Whatever we want to be to each other, whatever we are, were, or are going to be, we'll always be family. No matter what."

"I know that." Dixon stood up. "I know that." He walked over to me and put his hands on either side of my face.

"Are you being romantic?" I whispered, smiling.

"Trying." He replied just as quietly. "But not if you keep talking."

My smile grew wider and his lips met mine.

This kiss was different than the other two kisses we'd had. Better. Deeper. I wrapped my arms around his neck but when he put his hands on my hips and pulled me closer, I seized up. My heart thrummed like a hummingbird in my rib cage. My breaths came in short burst. Darkness edged my vision and I saw stars.

"What's wrong?" Dixon asked, panicked.

"I... I..." I started, but I couldn't get enough air to speak. The room was spinning and the floor was tilting. It was like the world had suddenly turned into fun house mirrors.

"'Ey." Dixon called out the door. "Maggie! Maggie!"

Maggie ran in a minute later and grabbed me by the shoulders.

"What happened?" Maggie asked.

All Dixon could do was shrug and wave his arms at me.

"Mel? Mel?" I was shaking so violently Maggie had an issue holding onto my shoulders.

Slowly, the fear and the heart palpitations and gasps faded away. Then I was fine. Normal breathing, normal heartbeat, normal everything.

"What happened?" Maggie asked, looking into my eyes. Glenn, Rick, Michonne, and Carl holding Judith were standing by the door, watching.

"I... think... I think I was having a panic attack." I said after a moment.

Maggie looked at me. "What happened before the panic attack."

I glanced at Dixon, but only for a second, then said, "Nothing. It just happened."

"I don't know much about panic attacks," Maggie said after a minute, "but I do know it'll probably happen again. Maybe you shouldn't go on runs anymore. If you have a panic attack while you're out there, you'll put everyone in a dangerous situation."

"No." I said quickly. "No, I have to go on runs. I don't have another job."

"I'm sure Deanna can find you another one." Rick said. I'd almost forgotten that they were there.

"No." I shook my head. "I'm fine now. It'll be fine. You said it would probably happen again, not that it definitely would. I'm fine. Look at me, I'm fine."

I looked at everyone in the room. They all looked concern, Dixon more than anyone.

Maggie shook her head. "I don't like it. I really don't. But have a head like a brick. If you have one more panic attack, just one more, you're not going out again. At all. Not even for target practice or anything, got me? Not with someone, even Daryl, not by yourself, you're grounded to Alexandria. Got it?"

"Got it." I said weakly.

Maggie nodded in satisfaction and walked out of the attic.

"You okay?" Carl asked, shifting Judith from one side to the other. Everyone else was gone.

"Yeah, Carl, I'm fine." I replied. "Go put Judith to sleep. She should be sleeping by now." Carl nodded and walked away.

I looked back at Dixon.

"Nothing." He murmured.

"I didn't mean nothing." I said, pressing my palms to my forehead.

"That's what you said."

"I wasn't ready for the looks." I explained. "The looks and the questions. No. Maggie would have blamed you." Dixon gave me a look. "Don't deny it, Dixon. You look like those men. You're not like them, never like them, but you looked like them. I don't know if it's the way you look or just that you're a guy, but..." I shook my head. I rubbed my hands down my face.

Dixon's expression changed and he walked over to me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest.

"Slow." I said, my words muffled by his chest. "We have to take it slow."

Dixon nodded. "Slow." He repeated.

I let go of him and pecked him on the cheek. "You leave tomorrow, right?"

Dixon nodded.

"Then I guess I'll be there when you leave." I smiled. "Crack a bottle open on your bike like they did with ships way back when."

"Cant' waste that shit though." Dixon pointed out.

"'Cause then Abraham would kill us." I nodded. "You're right. I'll just say goodbye like a normal person."

Dixon smiled. What a rare sight.

I left him standing in the attic and I went down stairs.

"You okay?" Glenn asked me.

"Yeah." I replied. "Well, sort of."

Glenn gave me a weird look. "What were you and Daryl doing up there?" He asked, his mouth twisting into a smirk.

"Nothing." I defended myself. "Just... chatting?"

"Mhm." Glenn nodded. " _Chatting_. That's what we'll go with." He laughed and walked into his bedroom.

I paused in front of my room before changing my mind and walked back to Dixon's room. He was already in bed still wearing his clothes. Most of us still slept in our clothes. There wasn't much in the way with pajamas and most of us were more comfortable that way.

I climbed into bed with Dixon and wrapped my arms around his chest.

"Goodnight, Dixon." I murmured. He patted my arm and we fell asleep.

 **Author's Note: Okay, here you go. I've just started another job and classes will be starting next week so I'll update when I can but please don't freak out if I don't post in a while. Also, season six isn't on Netflix yet and I'm running out of season five, so that'll be another road block. But anyway, pleas leave a review and have a nice day!**


	77. Chapter 77

I garnered myself a look from Maggie when I walked out of Dixon's room the next morning.

"Get much sleep?" She asked.

"Yes, shut up." I replied, smiling. Maggie's smile widened and I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth and take a shower.

Dixon and I didn't do anything different in our morning routine. I did my thing and he did his. He got ready to leave Alexandria with Aaron and I got dressed and went on a walk with Carl and Judith.

The three of us went to go say good bye and good luck to Dixon and Aaron. I hugged Dixon longer than I probably should have. We weren't in a relationship, at least, any sort of relationship more than we already had, but I couldn't help hugging him for a few extra seconds. He was more likely so survived out there than Aaron, so why was I so scared he wasn't coming back? He was going to come back.

To recover from the potentially embarrassing moment, I found Dixon's cigarettes and ran away, laughing hysterically.

"Give those back!" Dixon yelled after me. "You don't even smoke!"

I cackled, called "'Bye Dixon," over my shoulder, and ran to the other side of Alexandria. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe. My chest tightened, my heart thrummed like a humming bird, my vision edged with darkness. Another panic attack. I pressed a hand to my chest and dropped to my knees, shaking violently.

 _Breathe, dammit, breathe._ I told myself. _You're okay, just breathe._ Slowly, my chest relaxed and my heartbeat became normal. I could see properly and I wasn't shaking anymore. I looked around, hoping that no one had seen me. No one had and I sighed with relief. One more panic attack, Maggie had said, one more and no more runs. I had to go on runs. I had to. I wasn't good at anything else, which is hilarious considering where I was a year and a half ago.

I took a few deep breaths and pulled out a cigarette. I lit up and walked through the streets, sending smoke signals into the air. I had smoked once or twice in my lifetime, but I'd never actually gotten into the habit.

I found my way back to the house where I found Maggie waiting for me.

"You okay?" She asked, concern in her eyes.

"Fine." I replied, finishing my cigarette and crushing it into the cement.

"No more panic attacks?"

"Nope." I lied. Maggie studied me for a second, weighing my answer. When she decided that it was a good one because she had no proof it was a bad one, she nodded.

"I'm going to Deanna's house." She said. "You should find Glenn and help him plan the run for tomorrow."

We needed some tech stuff for the solar panels. Eugene tried to explain to me exactly what the tech was and what it was used for, but I had stopped listening after word three.

I did indeed go find Glenn and I helped him come up with a plan. It was a simple drive to the building, quick in and out, get back before sundown. We planned out what we were taking and what we could afford not to take. No food, we shouldn't be out there that long. First aid kit, never leave home without your first aid kit. Guns, extra ammo. Bags to carry the loot in. It was pretty simple.

"So," Glenn said, leaning back in his chair. We were sitting on the porch, reluctant to go inside until it got too cold to stay outside. "I saw you leave Daryl's room this morning. Oh, and you were in there last night, too." Glenn looked at me with a cheesy smile.

"Shut up, Glenn." I replied, a smile playing on my lips.

"Did you two..." Glenn trailed off.

"No." I shook my head, sighing.

"Is... is that why you had the panic attack?" Glenn asked quietly. "Because of Daryl?"

I paused. "Yeah, kind of, I guess." I looked around uncomfortably.

"Have you had another one?" Glenn asked. "Because if you have..."

"I haven't." I replied shortly. "Maggie said if I have another one, I can't go on runs. But Dixon's not here, so why should I have another one?" I looked at Glenn.

"Fair enough." Glenn nodded. "Just asking."

"Thanks, bro." I gently punched his shoulder and he laughed."

Carl showed up then. He walked up the stairs and I smiled at him.

"Were you with _Enid_?" I teased.

"Ooh, who's Enid?" Glenn asked, sitting forward. "You have a girlfriend, Carl?"

"Shut up." Carl groaned. Glenn started laughing and I lunged out and grabbed Carl, pulling him onto my lap.

"Stop!" Carl yelled, laughing. "Mel, stop!" We wrestled in the chair and ended up falling on to the floor.

"Mel!" Finally, Carl got free of my kung fu grip and ran inside. I ran after him, and chased him past Rick and Michonne, up the stairs and past Maggie, straight into his room. He shut the door in my face. I could hear him laughing through the wood. I laughed as I went back downstairs.

"What was that about?" Rick asked, a smile edging his lips.

"Oh, nothing." I said nonchalantly. "Just... that _Carl_ has a _girlfriend_." I called the sentence up the stairs.

"Shut up!" Carl called back.

"You shut up!"

"I didn't say anything!" Then he closed the door and I laughed again.

Rick's eyebrows were raised. "A girlfriend, huh?" He looked the stairs, a look of contentment on his face.

"Mhm." I nodded and walked into the living room. Glenn had come inside and headed up stairs. He kissed Maggie on the second floor and then they went to their room.

"Goodnight, guys." I said to Rick and Michonne. "Got a big day tomorrow."

"Alright." Rick nodded. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Michonne said. I walked up the stairs and curled up in my bed.

That night, I prayed. I mean, really prayed. Hail Mary's and Our Father's. I'd even stolen a rosary from Gabriel. It'd taken me a minute to remember how to use it. I hadn't prayed in years.

I prayed that tomorrow, everything would go smoothly. That I wouldn't have a panic attack, no one would get hurt, and no one would die. God hadn't listened when Jackson died. He better listen this time.

 **Author's Note: So sorry it's taken me so long to post a new chapter guys! The only solution is stopping working so damn much, but you can't survive without a job, you know? Anyway, here you go, a brand new chapter and hopefully a few more because... drum roll... season 7 starts in 2 weeks! Eek! Also, I'm working on putting a revised version of _Into the Storm_ on Wattpad called _Survive_. I'll let you know when it's up and post a link just in case you're interested. Please leave a review and have a wonderful day!**


	78. Chapter 78

**R.I.P. Glenn Rhee (1.02-7.01) and Abraham Ford (4.10-7.01)**

As we got ready for the run, I was nervous that I'd have another panic attack. Maggie was saying goodbye to Glenn and I kept chancing a glance at her when she wasn't looking.

"Be careful." Deanna told Aiden.

"Aren't we always?" Aiden asked in his patented cocky way.

Glenn looked at me and I rolled my eyes.

"If he keeps that up, he'll get us all killed." I whispered to my partner, fully aware of the danger I'd put everyone in.

"So where were you last night?" Tara asked Noah, completely unaware of Glenn and I's little conversation.

"Nowhere, just... with Holly." Noah shrugged nonchalantly.

"Ooh, Holly huh?" I taunted.

"It's nothing." Noah continued.

"Oh yeah?" Tara asked, then she grabbed him by the shoulders and jumped.

"Trust me, you won't be bringing back the wrong shit." Eugene continued to protest.

"Just in case." Nicholas said, then gestured for Eugene to get in the van.

"Just stick close, Eugene." I told him. "You might not die if you do." Eugene's face went white and I smiled as I climbed into the van.

"That wasn't funny." Glenn whispered to me.

"It was funny to me." I whispered back.

Eugene climbed into the van followed by Noah and Tara. The doors shut and horrible EDM music started to blare through the speakers.

"Seriously?" Tara asked. Noah shrugged and Tara buried her head in her hands.

I chuckled and the rest of the drive went on to the sounds of techno music. I focused on my breathing, trying to remember how I felt when I was going through a panic attack and trying to figure out a way to fix it. The only way I knew was drugs, but there weren't any anti-anxiety pills in the apocalypse. Then a thought poked the back of my mind. A thought I didn't want to realize but ended up thinking anyway: Dixon. I'd been with Dixon during my first panic attack and I'd just messed with him before my second one. Was Dixonl the reason I was having panic attacks? God I hoped not. There was no way I wasn't going to choose Dixon over pulling my weight and going on runs, and I wasn't going to choose going on runs over Dixon.

There was no right answer except stop having panic attacks. And that was probably not going to happen, at least, not for a while.

 **Author's Note: Hello guys! I know, I know, short chapter, really short. Sorry! School and work is running me ragged and keeping me busy. I was going to write more on this chapter (it was mostly from memory, I like to watch the episodes I'm writing about two-three times before/while I write about them) but it's getting late and I have school tomorrow plus my last Wednesday shift ever. Also, I said I would be revising and editing _Into the Storm_ and renaming it _Survive_ but I've changed my mind. Instead, I'm going to be writing a whole new fic called _Fragile_ in which Sophia doesn't die. Please leave a review and have a great day! I promise I'll have two real chapters up on Thursday, I promise, promise, promise!**


	79. Chapter 79

About an hour later, we were at the warehouse. It looked like all the other warehouses nowadays. Abandoned and dirty. We all climbed out of the car and loaded up on weapons.

"Okay, does everyone see that door there?" Aiden asked, gesturing.

Everyone nodded.

"That's our entrance."

"We should now all the exits and entrances." Glenn said.

"Like a safety net if that door gets blocked." I added when Aiden opened his mouth to disagree.

"I have a safety net." Nicholas replied, smugly. "The front door."

"But she's right." Aiden looked at me like a shark eyeing a fish. "Let's do a perimeter check."

"Noah heads up." Tara said quickly. The unmistakable sound of a walker filled my ears and when I turned, there was one lumbering toward our group. Noah lifted his gun and shot the walker in the head.

"Nice shot." Aiden said. I would have said he was sincerely impressed if his face wasn't so arrogant. What, did Aiden think he had anything to do with Noah's sharpshooting skills? If he was, he'd be dead.

I smiled to myself.

"What?" Noah asked, looking at me.

I shook my head. "Nothing, bro, nothing."

We split into three groups, Tara and Eugene going one way, Me, Noah, and Glenn going another way, and Aiden and Nicholas going a completely other way.

"Hey, nice shot." Glenn said to Noah once it was just the three of us.

"Thanks." Noah shrugged. "I've been practicing. I almost practiced on Aiden last week."

Glenn chuckled. "Me, too."

I smiled and a spark lit up in Noah.

"Hey, why were you smiling earlier?" He asked. "Were you making fun of me?"

"No, no." I chuckled. "No. Aiden looked so smug that you were a good shot now. I wondered if he was giving himself credit for it but if he had anything to do with your shooting skills, he'd be dead now."

Noah smiled. "Great minds think alike, huh?"

I smiled back. "Yepperoni."

"Why do you say shit like that?" Noah asked, trying his damnedest not to outright laugh.

"Because I'm fucking hilarious." I replied

"Does _Daryl_ think your hilarious?" Glenn joked.

"You know Dixon doesn't find enjoyment in anything." I replied, smiling.

"I bet he found enjoyment the night before he left." Glenn teased.

"Why do you say shit like that?" I hissed. I stopped walking and hung my head back to look at the sky. My cheeks heated up and for a second, I couldn't look at Glenn or Noah. Finally, I dropped my head and looked at Noah with a (hopefully) menacing look.

"Oh, my, _God_." Noah looked at me and pressed a hand to his chest and a smirk on the corners of his lips.

"Shut up." I stuck my tongue out at Noah. Glenn was farther up while Noah and I were standing almost next to each other.

"Are you and Daryl..." Noah started, but was cut off by Glenn.

"We need to find another way in and out." He said.

Noah and I looked at each other then caught up to Glenn. There was a fence all around the front of the warehouse. Inside that fence were walkers. Lots and lots of walkers.

"Balls." I sighed. Glenn nodded and we headed back to the van, our sort of happy feelings gone and replaced with a foreboding in our stomachs.

"There's no way in that way." Glenn informed the rest of the group.

"There's a door around the other side." Tara added, pointing over the top of the building.

"There's no way in that way, either." Aiden gestured toward the side of the building he and Nicholas scouted. "I guess we're using that door you guys found."

After a few minutes of preparation, i.e. getting flashlights and such, and Tara explaining where the door is, we set out. First, Glenn opened the door. Everyone was holding their weapons up, ready for any walkers to shamble through. None came. Glenn banged on the door a few times, a patented way of drawing out any walkers.

Aiden shifted forward like he was making to go inside but Glenn stopped him.

"Give it a second, they may be stuck." He warned. Aiden shifted back.

I strained my ears and could faintly hear the moaning of walkers.

"I think there are some walkers in there, though." I informed Glenn. "But if they aren't coming out, they may be stuck in a good place and by that I mean they're stuck and we can get in and out without having to bother with them."

Glenn nodded. "Okay, let's go." Glenn led the way into the warehouse. As we walked, the sound of walkers got louder and louder until the classic jump scare of a walker shot out and was blocked by a chain link fence. I about screamed and jumped back, knocking into Aiden who put up a hand and placed it on my back. I shook it off and huffed air out of my nose.

"Asshole." I hissed at the walker. "Why do you do shit like that?"

Noah shook his head smiling and we kept walking.

"They look secure." Glenn said, shining his flashlight around the fence. "You were right, Mel."

"I'm an expert." I replied.

"Shut up."

I chuckled and we kept walking.

 **Author's Note: Hello! Sorry about last time's update, but here's a real one and... one more to go! I have one more chapter planned for tonight or maybe early tomorrow morning so look for that. I'll give you an update on Fragile when I start writing it, I'm still a little time crunched plus, November is Nation Novel Writing Month so I'm participating in that. If you're interested log on to .org to sign up and write a novel of 50,000 words or more before November 30th. Please leave a review and have a great day!**


	80. Chapter 80

"Guys I found them." Tara called. "I found them! Eugene!"

Eugene quickly walked over and looked at the adapters.

"They look like the right shit." He said. "Like I said, simple to find."

"Well it's nice to know for sure, Eugene." I said, slightly sarcastically. Eugene glared at me as we started loading up the adapters into a special backpack.

"Aiden." Glenn called. I turned to look and saw a walker with riot gear on lumbering toward Aiden on the other side of the metal shelf.

"I got it." Aiden started shooting at it but the bullet deflected off the armor. As I watched, morbidly transfixed, I had the strange thought of Aiden being killed by the walker. But that would go against the prayer I had sent up last night. No one getting hurt. No one dying. Not even Aiden. But still, a girl could dream, right?

"Aiden stop." Glenn said, his voice on the verge of panic. I looked down at Glenn as the walker fell. "Aiden STOP!" Glenn yelled, really panicked now. But it was too late.

And everything exploded.

I couldn't see a damn thing. I was laying flat on my back trying to get my breath back. There was ringing in my ears but I heard someone calling and it sounded like it was coming from far away.

I finally took in a deep breath and sat up.

"Mel?" Glenn was calling, his voice coming into focus.

"Present." I called back quietly. Glenn made his way through the wreckage and came to crouch beside me. "Dumbass." He hissed. I nodded in agreement.

"Oh, God, he's dead." Nicholas wailed quietly. I looked through a knocked over shelf and saw that Aiden had gotten himself impaled on the other side of the room. My heart constricted and I hoped to God I hadn't jinxed the run last night with my praying. I knew it was a stupid idea to ask God for anything. He hadn't listened to me before, what made me think he would listen to me now? My goal now was to keep myself from having another panic attack.

"Nicholas." Glenn hissed. "Shut up."

"Glenn." I whispered.

"Eugene, get Tara." Glenn was in full leader mode. I didn't want to make it worse, but it was already worse.

"Glenn." I whispered a little louder.

"She hit her head." Eugene replied. "I can't tell if she's dead from here."

"She's not dead." Glenn insisted. "Go around the shelf and grab her, okay? It's going to be fine."

"Glenn, the walkers are out." I finally said. "The bomb must have broken the fence."

Glenn stared at me for a second. "Okay, we need to get out of here. Eugene grab Tara."

"I can't."

"Eugene, grow a pair, get your shit together, and grab her." I hissed, turning to look at him. "You want to change? Now's the time. Get Tara out of here." Eugene studied me for a second then nodded finally and, with Noah's help, pulled Tara into a room to make sure she was alive. She was, and we sighed with relief, but then we heard the sound of moaning walkers creeping toward us. And Aiden's mangled cries.

"I thought you said he was dead." Glenn said to Nicholas.

"I-I thought he was dead." Nicholas defended himself. "Who could survive something like that?"

"We need to save him." I said quietly. "If there's a chance he can be saved, we need to try. If we leave him, we're no better than you." I punctuated the "you" by putting my face an inch from Nicholas'.

I saw Glenn nodded out of the corner of my eye and then we left Eugene with Tara as the rest of us went to help Aiden.

But there was no helping him. There was no way we could get him off the posts he was impaled on.

"Help me, please, don't leave me." Aiden begged.

"We can't" Glenn whispered to me. "They're getting closer." I looked over my shoulder and sure enough, the walkers were creeping toward us.

"I'm sorry, Aiden, we have to go." I said.

Aiden paused then said, "I'll give you a head start, go." Then we moved away from him and he started luring the walkers toward him. The taunts changed to screams of anguish as the walkers started tearing him apart.

Eugene managed to get out of the building with Tara, but a small group of walkers separated Glenn, Noah, Nicholas, and I from them, making us need a different route out of the warehouse.

So we ran, because that was all we could do at that moment. We ran through the building, which ended up being more like a mall when we entered a big room with a revolving door leading to the outside world. Nicholas and I were in one section and Noah and Glenn were in the other. There were walkers blocking us in from the building side and from the outside.

"We're going to die." Nicholas was murmuring. "We're going to die."

"Shut up, Nicholas." I hissed. "We're not going to die."

"Nicholas, listen to me, okay?" Glenn said through the glass, panic in his eyes. Just then, Eugene in the van drove by blaring Aiden's horrible EDM music. He lead the walkers on the outside of the revolving doors away from us, which helped a little.

"Okay, this is what we're going to do." Glenn called. It was then that I realized our bags were on the outside side of the revolving door. Nicholas was the only one of us with a gun.

"Nicholas, Noah and I are going to lean against the door." Glenn instructed. "hit the window on the outside with your gun and try to break the glass."

"That's not going to work." Nicholas protested.

"It is if you try." I replied. "I'll push against the blows, too." I looked at Glenn and he nodded.

Nicholas looked from me to Glenn to Noah then nodded. I leaned against the used my full weight to counteract Nicholas' blows. Noah and Glenn did the same thing in their section but then everything went wrong.

Nicholas kept pushing. He was reaching for the bags. The opening on Noah and Glenn's side became too wide.

"Nicholas stop!" Glenn yelled.

"Stop!" I yelled. "Stop." I looked over just as Nicholas pushed his way out of the revolving door and the walkers pulled Noah into their midst. I threw myself against the other side of the section so the hole would close up.

It was just Glenn and me in the revolving door. Then suddenly, Noah crashed back onto the widows and started screaming as the walkers tore him apart. Glenn and I sat and stared with horror as our friend died before our eyes.

"Glenn, now's our chance." I called to him. "While their distracted." He looked at me with steel in his eyes and nodded. I pushed and forced my way out of the revolving door then Glenn followed. I looked at him and he looked at me.

"Nicholas is going to pay." I hissed. Glenn nodded and we made our way toward where the van had previously been parked. Eugene was standing next to the van confused.

"He said you were dead." He said excitedly when he saw us, his face lighting up, but then the light when out when he counted one less member.

"He wasn't entirely wrong." I replied gruffly. Glenn lurched toward the driver's seat and dragged Nicholas out and threw him onto the concrete. He punched him once and then climbed in behind the wheel.

"Passenger seat." I told Nicholas when he stood up. "I don't trust you with anyone." I looked at Glenn over his shoulder and Glenn nodded again then trained his eyes in front of him. I climbed into the back of the van with Eugene and Tara.

"Do you think she's going to be okay?" I asked the mullet barer and he sighed.

"She took quite the knock to the head." He looked down at Tara. "She should be alright, though."

"Good." I cradled Tara's head in my lap and replayed the images of Noah's death in my head. I had never seen someone get ripped apart like that before.

If I thought it was hard to sleep before, good luck to me, now.

 **Author's Note: Hi guys! Oh my God I'm so sorry it's been so long! Seriously, really sorry. I've been sucking it up at school and take it from me, Walmart is the worst place to work. I like to call it Hell's Asshole because it sucks so bad. I hate it and I'm hating on this semester of school, too. Anyway, enough about my life falling apart, here's a new chapter! I was getting asked to post something new for a while now so here you go!**

 **Please enjoy, leave a review, and have a great day!**


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